Northland Age
  • Northland Age home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
  • Opinion
  • Kaitaia weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northland Age

Not so many crabs needed for a feed

Northland Age
18 Feb, 2015 07:58 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

WHOPPER: The Unahi mudcrab, which didn't go down without a fight. PICTURE/BARBARA HALL

WHOPPER: The Unahi mudcrab, which didn't go down without a fight. PICTURE/BARBARA HALL

Lovers of crab meat would agree that it takes some time and effort to collect enough for a decent feed, but the whopper caught by Awanui man Danny Hall in Rangaunu Harbour earlier this month is in a different category.

The crab turned up in a net at Unahi, and didn't go down without a fight, Danny's mother Barbara Hall said. Its claws were strong enough to score the casing of a torch, and it took a very aggressive stance in a bid for freedom.

It ended up in Mr Hall's freezer regardless, and is destined to be mounted.

Awanui farmer/conservationist Kevin Matthews said there was more than one species of mud crab, this one appearing to be scylla serrata.

"They may become more common as the ocean temperatures warm," he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They eat just about everything but are probably not a threat, toes and fingers not included."

Mud crabs, generally somewhat smaller than Mr Hall's catch, have been reported elsewhere around the North Island, including a female described as the size of a dinner plate that was caught in a net in the Pakiri estuary, and is now living at the Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre at Leigh.

A relation of the mangrove crabs found in Australia, Asia and Africa, it was suspected of having arrived as a planktonic larvae.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mud crabs are prized by recreational fishers in Australia for their size and taste, but are seldom seen as far south as New Zealand given that they cannot survive in water colder than 18C. One was photographed on Great Barrier Island, then eaten by the man who found it, another was found in Parengarenga Harbour, and one is reportedly decorating the wall of a Kaitaia fish and chip shop.

The crabs' natural habitat extends from South Africa and the coast of the Indian Ocean to the Malaya Archipelago, southern Japan, south-east Australia, Fiji and Samoa.

They have been introduced in Hawaii and Florida.

And while the Unahi specimen might have been impressive they do grow bigger, to a weight of 3.5kg with a shell 24cm across. They are described as highly cannibalistic, eating those that have moulted and are temporarily without a hard shell, along with some small fish and marine plants.

They can be killed by putting them in a freezer for up to two hours before cooking.

Each female is capable of producing a million offspring.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northland Age

Northland Age

'Grateful no one was killed': Man clambers on campervan to rescue pensioner hurt in twister

Northland Age

Far North news in brief: Global orca study, rural crime prevention workshops

Northland Age

'We need cops': Kaikohe's plea amid rising crime rates


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northland Age

'Grateful no one was killed': Man clambers on campervan to rescue pensioner hurt in twister
Northland Age

'Grateful no one was killed': Man clambers on campervan to rescue pensioner hurt in twister

A tornado flipped a campervan, injuring an elderly man inside.

15 Jul 03:26 AM
Far North news in brief: Global orca study, rural crime prevention workshops
Northland Age

Far North news in brief: Global orca study, rural crime prevention workshops

14 Jul 06:58 PM
'We need cops': Kaikohe's plea amid rising crime rates
Northland Age

'We need cops': Kaikohe's plea amid rising crime rates

14 Jul 05:41 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northland Age e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to The Northland Age
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northland Age
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP