Crabtastic

BBC News is reporting that Norway fears the invasion of the red king crab (Paralithodes camtschatica) is imminent. Maybe "continues to fear" would be the right way to describe it, since some version of this article seems to pop up in the British press every couple of years., along with the requisite reference to how great it would be if we could eat all the darn things up (mmmm....crab). I now know that if I ever go to Norway, I need to be sure to sign up for one of these crab safaris so I can pick up my own dinner off the bottom of the ocean (mmm...takeout takeaway).

Thanks to biosparite for sending in a link to the article.

Nothing much new

The Telegraph has an excellent article about the red king crabs (Paralithodes camtschatica) invading the waters of Norway, though the report is quite similar to a previous article from 2002.

On a different note, there is also this great article from the New York Times, which discusses the effects that many exotic pets have had following their release/escape into the wilds of Florida. If you register, you can view a short slide show called "Exotic Beasts." Abandoned pet Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are of particular concern in Everglades National Park, which the NYT reports has set up a python hotline. There is a good Miami Herald article on the subject from December 2002.

King of the World

Hailing from the far eastern parts of Russia, the King crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) is invading Norway and killing native crabs along the way. As reported in this BBC article, the crabs have been in Norwegian water for about 30 years, and are now being found further north than ever before. While the crabs have no natural enemies, Norway is upping the annual quota for fishermen who wish to catch and sell them. Interestingly, the BBC published this article online in August 2000, in which they put a more positive spin on the story, claiming that the crabs were benign.