Giant Spider Crab Migration
Now is the time for the annual Giant Spider Crab moulting migration.
As part of the life cycle of the native Giant Spider Crab, an aggregation of crabs have become particularly fond of the shallow waters of Port Philip Bay during Winter. They gather in numbers to shed their old protective shell to expose a new, soft shell that will eventually harden as its new, bigger sized shell.
Scientists currently believe that the mass aggregations in the shallow waters are a way for the crabs to find ‘safety in numbers’ during moulting when the crabs soft shells make them more vulnerable to marine predators.
Keep your eyes out when walking along our foreshores for the array of decorative shells left behind by this amazing mass migratory event. You may be astounded by the amount fo shells and leg casing that you find.
