Crab holiday homes or "condos" (click here for article with video) are being rolled out to entice Asian paddle crabs - but no pleasant stay is planned for them.
Three months ago, a Ministry for Primary Industries survey found the aggressive crabs in Tauranga Harbour. They could have devastating consequences for fisheries in the Bay of Plenty.
"They detected two Asian paddle crabs, Charybdis Japonica, a male and a female in a pot by the Matapihi Bridge," said biosecurity officer Hamish Lass....
The species Charybdis japonica, the Asian paddle crab, is a species of swimming crab in the family Portunidae.... It is a native species in the waters around Japan, Korea and Malaysia, but has become an invasive species in New Zealand and the Adriatic Sea where it is rare.It is classified in New Zealand as a pest,
It is an aggressive crab (click here) that can outcompete with native species for food and habitat. It is also known to carry the White Spot Syndrome Virus that can impact native and farmed prawns, crabs and lobsters....
