A previously unknown crab species has appeared on the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It’s a blue crab “that has never been found here before,” says Ines Martin of the German Maritime Museum in Stralsund. “It’s really a sensation.”
The find on Usedom is the first evidence of the crab on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea. It was more likely that an animal would be found in the western Baltic Sea near the Danish islands or in the Kiel Fjord, said Martin der Süddeutsche Zeitung. “I asked the museum director in Kiel, who still has no evidence of a blue crab.”
The specimen was found dead 200 meters from the pier in Ahlbeck on Usedom by a walker on the beach. Because of the striking color, he immediately recognized that this was a special crab and informed the Maritime Museum. “I was able to confirm very quickly that it was a sensational find,” says Martin. So far, the species, which is actually native to the American east coast, has only been found in the North Sea.
Compared to native crabs, the animal is unusually large at more than 20 centimeters wide. According to Martin, the crab is generally interesting for fisheries. “The muscle meat in the limbs in particular is considered a delicacy and is productive,” says the biologist. In the USA, for example, fishermen get up to 80 dollars per kilo. It is also worth catching and selling the animals in Brazil, Argentina and some Mediterranean regions.
Only two other specimens were found in the Baltic Sea
Around 1900 there was a first record of this species in Europe on the French Atlantic coast and in 1964 the first find in the North Sea near Cuxhaven, according to Martin. “Only two individual records for the Baltic Sea have been mentioned in the literature so far: 1951 near Copenhagen and 2007 further north in Skagen, between the Kattegat and Skagerak. To date, no finds have been reported for the inner Baltic Sea.”
The crab was found in April 2023 at the beach of the Baltic Sea resort of Ahlbeck.
(Photo: Stefan Sauer/dpa)
According to the Maritime Museum, how the crab got here can only be guessed at. Again and again animals got lost and also got into the Baltic Sea favored by certain currents. It is not to be expected that the blue crab will become native to the Baltic Sea in the near future. “The larvae need the right food,” says Martin. In addition, a water temperature between 15 and 30 degrees is ideal for the young animals. “The Baltic Sea currently only reaches up to 20 degrees in summer.”
However, hardly any sea warms up as quickly as the Baltic Sea, according to Martin. “It cannot be ruled out that blue crabs will be able to reproduce and live there in the future.”
Taxidermist of the Maritime Museum is happy about the lucky find
For Annerose Goldbecher, taxidermist at the Maritime Museum, it is a lucky find. As part of the modernization of the museum, she recently prepared an older specimen of a blue crab from the collection for the exhibition. However, the color was missing due to the preservation, which is why she had to recolor the shell. “I mostly look for the illustrations on the Internet.” In the best case, like now, an original is available as a template.
The blue crab found is in turn preserved in an alcohol solution and is part of the biological collection of the German Maritime Museum. According to the museum, the crustacean collection already includes more than 5,500 objects, including a specimen of a giant Japanese crab.
With material from the dpa