From the Barents Observer:
Arctic crab invasion reaches new shores
The king crab. Photo: Atle Staalesen
They have conquered the Barents Sea and will continue to expand north- and southwards. King crabs might ultimately make it all the way to the coasts of the UK.
Before 1960, the fishermen that sailed in the Barents Sea knew little about crabs. Then, developments unfolded that ultimately altered marine life on the far northern sea bottom.
Soviet experiment
In fall 1960, Soviet marine biologist Yuri Orlov successfully moved nine female king crabs from Vladivostok to Murmansk. In the following ten years, another 3,000 crabs were moved the Kola Bay. Then, thousand more in the 1970s.
The animals found comfortable living and few competitors in their new northern habitat. They quickly multiplied.
«It turned out that the invader crab became significantly bigger and more fertile than its ancestor,» Orlov said in an interview in 2016.
Big advance
According to the retired marine researcher, the king crab will continue to spread, and could ultimately reach as far south as the UK, and then even the Gibraltar. But it will take time, probably more than 100 years, he says....MUCH MORE
