Coral Crabs in NSW

[Jiggy]

I was on Facebook just now and someone posted that they had caught a strange crab in Brisbane Waters. Turns out it was an Asian Paddle Crab AKA Coral Crab. Now they are apparently good eating but are a noxious pest:

https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/aquatic-biosecurity/pests-diseases/marine-pests/crustaceans/asian-paddle-crab

So if you run into any on your travels please consider reporting them to the DPI. I think it's probably too late to stop them but who knows.

Cheers

Rob

[noelm]

Not too sure a Coral Crab and those Paddle things are the same, I get Coral crabs reasonably regularly, always have.

[noelm]

This is what I call a Coral Crab, caught about 3 years ago. Note the difference in colour and the distinct black tips on the Nippers?

Edited December 16, 2022 by noelm

[Rebel]

Never seen one on the Coast.

[noelm]

I would get at least 5 or more a season in Lake Illawarra, sometimes much less to none, other years more.

[noelm]

Just reading that link provided, it explains the difference between them.

edit......I just saw you said it was on Facebook, that explains the confusion, by tomorrow they will be 2 metres long and eating people alive......

Edited December 16, 2022 by noelm

[rickmarlin62]

They are in lake macquarie as well   see a couple every now an then  just as good as blueys on the plate

[noelm]

Yeah they are OK to eat, the Nippers are small compared to a Blue Swimmer, more like a female Blue Swimmer.

[Blackfish]

A couple have come up here on FR over the years.

 

Paddle Crabs have a slightly different pattern on their shell as well as a slightly different shell shape.

"Paddle Crab" (Photo from DPI.)

 

Edited December 16, 2022 by Blackfish

[Yowie]

In all of my time fishing in the Hacking, I have only ever landed 1 coral crab.

[noelm]

Who knows why hey? No idea why we get a few here, it's only just around the corner from you (sort of) 

[Yowie]

3 minutes ago, noelm said:

Who knows why hey? No idea why we get a few here, it's only just around the corner from you (sort of) 

I've caught plenty of blue swimmers in the Hacking, but only 1 mud crab, and that one was in a prawning net many years ago. It buggered the net so that was the end of prawning that night.

Some years ago, I pulled out a couple of yellow tailed flatties over the shallow sand banks, and northern sand flatties in the deep water. Have you ever caught either in the big lake?

[noelm]

Never caught any other varieties of Flathead in the lake except your standard old Duskies, and one ocean Blue Spot way down near the entrance. It's a funny place, I think because it's almost featureless and shallow, there is nowhere up in the lake that's noticeably deeper than anywhere else, it's just a big flat sand/mud circle, deepest is about 3m at best. I think that's why the Prawns used to be so good there, but, since the new deep entrance was built, the Prawns have gone. I was talking to an old pro Lake Prawner and he reckoned that the tidal flow is too great now, the Prawns don't stay in the lake and grow, they just "run" with the tide, right or wrong? No idea.

[noelm]

Another note! There is lots of small Jewfish in the lake (always has been) but very few big ones are caught, (there is some) best guess is they must hang around, then buzz off out to sea, or move up into the smaller creeks, or right down to the entrance?

[noelm]

Just dreaming about the Coral Crab thing, I wonder if I see more, because I Crab really regularly? just the amount of times I have traps/nets in the water I think would increase my chances of catching one big time! This cold change will not help the crabbing much, just as they were starting to come on too, bugger.

[Yowie]

1 hour ago, noelm said:

Another note! There is lots of small Jewfish in the lake (always has been) but very few big ones are caught, (there is some) best guess is they must hang around, then buzz off out to sea, or move up into the smaller creeks, or right down to the entrance?

Never caught a jewie in the lake (only fished it a couple of times) spent my time fishing from near the entrance up to the step/drop off (not that the depth changed much past there). The deep water was on the eastern side of Bevan Island (tailor were sometimes there)

As for the prawns, I'm also thinking with the faster runout, the prawns would be heading outside. Some of the lakes down south, such as Coila, had larger prawns when it closed up for a while.

[noelm]

I regularly get little Jews while I drift aimlessly around waiting for my crab lift nets, lots of small Whiting too, most trips out I get a Flathead or two, and a couple of keeper Whiting, which is pretty good going considering how we fish while crabbing, it usually involves a hook, sinker, servo Prawn and the rod in the rod holder while I lay on the seat! If I am "serious" and pump Nippers or use worms I usually do OK, but that's normally up on the flats, not out in the lake as such. Crabbing and fishing involve two very different things, so I do one or the other properly.