Red Crabs Invade Our Beaches!

They’re back!

The red crabs have invaded Orange County once again, turning pristine beaches red, an all-you-can-eat banquet for the sea gulls. This year, the red crabs coincide with a red tide, an algal bloom that causes crashing waves to glow in the dark at night because of the bloom’s bioluminescence. So, it’s a spectacular time to experience the mysteries of nature at Orange County beaches.

The crabs, known as pelagic red, or tuna crabs, are commonly seen in Mexican waters but experts believe they have been lured further north by the warmer El Nino waters. In recent days they started showing up from Seal Beach to Laguna Beach, and this morning they washed up in droves, mainly in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.

“It is quite the invasion. It’s just one of those phenomena that happens,” said Newport Beach Lifeguard Capt. Gary Conwell. “Some areas have 2-3 inches piled up at the high tide line. There is piles of them everywhere all over the beach.”

The crabs, some alive but most dead, aren’t going anywhere too soon.

In Newport Beach, the plan is to see what the next couple high tides bring before maintenance crews truck them away as they did last June when the crabs showed up.

“The birds like it in the meantime,” said Conwell.

In Laguna Beach, officials, at this point, plan to allow nature to take its course.

“We are in a marine protected area. There is nothing much we can do,” said Laguna Beach Lifeguard Lt. Kai Bond. “It’s up to mother nature to move them around, and it’s up to mother nature to take its course.”

In some isolated Laguna coves, the sand looks blood red with crabs piled high and on wider beaches the crabs dot the shoreline in bunches.

The natural phenomenon is drawing onlookers, and dog walkers and their pets are having a lot of fun, added Bond.

However, he recommends that people leave the crustaceans alone.

“Leave them alone,” Bons warns. “Some are still alive.”

In the meantime, enjoy the unusual sight while it lasts, said lifeguard officials.

“I don’t know exactly when they will be leaving,” Bond said. “Typically it’s with a change of conditions.”

Photos by Alexander Nguyen