Mitten Crab Watch

Please help us detect live mitten crabs by reporting any sighting in North America. We are especially interested in collecting sightings from the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Hudson River, and San Francisco Bay-- where the crab has been common in the past. This website contains all the information you'll need to submit your crab sighting, but if you see a crab, remember?

  • Do not throw it back alive!
  • Take a close- up photo.
  • Note the precise location where the animal was found. 
  • Freeze the anima, keep on ice, or as a last resort preserve it in rubbing alcohol.
  • Please report a mitten crab by submitting information and photos HERE (link to form) or sending an email to SERCMittenCrab@si.edu. We will reply to each report and may also ask about any specimens that you may have collected.
  • For other questions you can also contact the Mitten Crab Hotline at 443-482-2222.