Monday April 28, 2025
The Oregonian —
A Chinese mitten crab was caught in the Lower Columbia River this week, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reported, the first confirmed sighting of the the prohibited species in the Pacific Northwest.
The agency warned that the crabs “caused significant infrastructure and ecological damage in and around San Francisco Bay when the population was at its height in the late 1990s.”
Mitten crabs can be identified by several distinctive features: a notch between the eyes, four spines on each side of the carapace and hairy mitten-like claws. The crabs’ color varies from greenish-brown to brownish-orange, according to an agency news release.
The agency asks Columbia River users to keep an eye out for Chinese mitten crabs and report any that have been found to local Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife offices or report it online to the Oregon Invasive Species Council. Anyone who catches a Chinese mitten crab is asked to take photos and report it with the location to the Oregon State Police TIPS Line (call 1-800-452-7888 or *OSP or *677 from a mobile phone or email TIP@osp.oregon.gov). Then take it to the nearest ODFW office.