ABSTRACT
Eriocheir sinensis is one of only a small number of species belonging to the genus Eriocheir and closely related genera Neoeriocheir and Platyeriocheir that inhabit river systems of southeast Asia and Japan. The taxonomy is currently under revision and may lead to these species being assigned to fewer genera based on morphological characters (Tang et al, 2009) or molecular evidence (Tang et al, 2003). The native range of the Chinese mitten crab ranges from about 20°N in Hong Kong, through eastern China, to about 40°N in the Korean Peninsula (Hymanson et al, 1999). Its long distance migrations upstream from the estuaries mean that it is found in excess of 1400km from the coast (Dittel and Epifanio, 2009), in rivers and adjacent lakes. It is also stocked regularly into lakes, ponds and rice paddies for aquaculture purposes.
