History of the Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineusThe Asian shore crab is a native to Japan and the countries along the Asian Pacific Ocean. The crab was first noticed in New Jersey in 1988. By 2009 it had traveled as far north as Maine and as far south as North Carolina. The Asian shore crab is invading Long Island Sound and crowding out native species, according to marine biologists. It is believed that this non-indigenous crab came to the This map shows the current (2009) location of Asian shore crab habitats.
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US East coast when ballast water was dumped from cargo ships that had sailed from Asia. The holds of cargo ships use ballast to stabilize their boats while crossing the seas. Up until 2008, there was no legislation to guard harbors from the dumping of ballast water with live organisms. Now a law is in place that requires ballast water to be chemically treated to kill foreign organisms prior to dumping in US waters. 