If you are crabbing in the Swan River over summer, the Department of Fisheries is calling for help from fishers to report any unusual crabs they find, following the discovery of three pest crabs last year.
The Asian paddle crab (Charybdis japonica) is an aggressive non-native crab that could spread devastating disease to prawns, crabs and lobsters. It can carry a disease that causes poisoning in humans and could out-compete native crabs like WA’s blue swimmer.
The Asian paddle crab is not currently established in Australia, but has potential to become a major marine pest.
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