Giant 6ft crabs from Russia have washed up on Yorkshire beaches leaving local fishermen concerned about the future of local species.
The humungous red crabs, which can grow up to 6ft in length, were spotted off the coast by Yorkshire fishermen in large numbers – an unusual sighting in this part of the world.
Typically the sea creatures have never been seen here in big numbers – but new reports suggest that this has changed, with the crabs having been spotted together in large clusters.
FIsh supplier Shaun Henderson, who works with a large number of UK restaurants, told The Sun that one of his fishermen pulled up 40 stone of king crabs off the coast of Bridlington in East Yorkshire this week.
Despite expressing some excitement about the catch, he also said he was “wary” about the invasive nature of the species.
Native to North America, they can weigh up to 28 pounds and have been previously seen floating in the waters close to Yorkshire’s beaches by local fishermen – although not in these numbers.
Originally introduced to Russia by scientists in the 1960s, the crabs thrived in the Arctic Ocean despite being native to the Atlantic and have resided there ever since.
Popular with chefs, they can prove to be a great catch – yet some local fishermen have been concerned after recent sightings of the creatures.
This is in part because they seem to have eaten much of the smaller catches that fishermen would usually bring in, like scallops and brown crabs.
One fisherman, whose family has been fishing off the coast for generations, said that it was the first time he’d ever known anyone to catch a giant red king crab.
He told The Sun: “I’m really excited, but worried about our native seafood.”
It’s not the first time that the crabs have migrated, previously causing a boom in the Norwegian fishing industry and bringing huge profits to local fishermen when they arrived in their waters.
It remains to be seen the effect their arrival will have on local native species.
Feature image – Rawpixel
