New faces cause a stir in the New England crustacean community

MAINE MORNING STAR • August 14, 2026

Lobsters have long reigned as king among New England’s shelled sea creatures, but the chances of a coup are growing — and climate change is tipping the scales. What kind of creature could hope to dethrone the lobster? Only, perhaps, a similarly large, jagged, claw-brandishing arthropod: the Atlantic blue crab, of Chesapeake Bay fame. Blue crabs are thriving in the rapidly warming currents of the Eastern Seaboard, expanding northward and becoming more common in places once too cold for them to establish year-round populations. Meanwhile, other newcomers are making their debuts, too, such as the lopsided fiddler crab and aggressive lady crab.