02/27/2025
Protect our native species!! No room for these ๐ We only want Callinectes sapidus in da boil ๐ฆ๐ค๐โโ๏ธ๐ฌ
๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ? ๐จ
As part of ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ, LDWF is keeping an eye out for the ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ (๐๐ณ๐ช๐ฐ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ด)โa rare visitor to Louisiana waters. First spotted in 1987, sightings have been extremely rare, but in January 2025, two were found near the mouth of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish. They are believed to have originally arrived in the U.S. as hitchhikers on ships or through ballast water.
These crabs are easy to recognize by their ๐ณ๐๐๐๐ โ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐โ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ and their ๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐. While they live most of their lives in freshwater, they migrate to marine waters to spawn and have been known to travel over 750 miles up rivers in other regions.
๐ฆ If you happen to catch one, LDWF wants to know! Please report any sightings to ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฑ-๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฑ-๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ณ or ๐ฎ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐@๐๐น๐ณ.๐น๐ฎ.๐ด๐ผ๐. If possible, snap a picture of the ๐๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ of the crab and keep it for future examination.
Right now, this is just a precautionary effortโweโre hoping these crabs arenโt becoming more frequent in Louisiana waters. But with your help, we can keep a close watch! ๐