A proposal to export around 90,000 hermit crabs harvested from Western Australia’s north-western coastline over three years has been labelled as a “crazy crab of an idea” by the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA).
CCWA Executive Director Matt Roberts said the license application before the federal government seeking to allow 30,000 hermit crabs to be collected annually from WA’s coastline and exported overseas for international pet trade should be rejected immediately.
“We stand alongside MPs Amanda Dorn and Georgie Purcell who have launched a campaign seeking to block the proposal,” Mr Roberts said.
“The application before the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), submitted by Merv Cooper's Crazy Crabs, seeks to export the hermit crabs to international pet markets for the next three years.
“The company claims it is already exporting the crabs interstate and to the US, taking them out of their native tropical habitat and exposing them to conditions that can cause suffering and premature death.
“While hermit crabs can live for up to 40 years in the wild, those kept in captivity can die far earlier due to incorrect temperature and humidity controls, inappropriate housing, handling stress, and lack of access to replacement shells, and salt water.
“Sadly, chlorinated tap water, or iodine in table salt, can be fatal.
“This is yet another example of why the federal government must urgently review the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), to strengthen environmental laws and prevent this sort of activity from ever seeing the light of day.”
Mr Roberts said that if approved, the proposed ‘Wildlife Trade Operation’ license for the wild harvest and commercial export of land hermit crabs (Coenobita variabilis) would remain in place for up to three years.
He said the application involved the harvesting of crabs from beaches between Exmouth Gulf and Derby (over 1,500km), including from sandy beaches and mangrove areas.
“The harvesting of crabs is currently regulated by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) under the Fish Resources Management Act 1994. However, the current licence does not regulate the quantity legally allowed to be harvested,” he said.
“While the proponent claims that DPIRD doesn’t consider the species to be in need of formal management plans for protection, there is no clear evidence on the environmental risk to the species from the increased level of harvesting, or the indirect impact to the ecology of harvesting areas, resulting from the removal of large number of crabs from the food chain.
“Indeed, the proponent argues that because there is no legislative limit set, and because they have been collecting crabs for over 50 years, there is no need for further restrictions on increased harvest levels.”
CCWA has sent a formal submission to DCCEEW, stating that under changing environmental conditions resulting from climate change and increasing industrialisation of the north-west coast of WA; the limited scientific data available on the species proposed for harvesting; and in the absence of a detailed environmental impact assessment; an urgent review of the uncontrolled harvesting of a native species in the proposed area is required.
“The proposal requires further review under state and commonwealth regulatory processes, along with further evaluation under animal welfare laws,” Mr Roberts said.
“The proponent - as one of several operators in WA - proposes to increase the total number from 50,000-106,000 over 13 years (being 4,000-8,000 per annum for all operators) to on average, 30,000 per annum (for one operator); a significant increase in the harvesting rate.
“Despite anecdotal claims that crab numbers remain unchanged, DPIRD has indicated there has not been any monitoring or assessment of the crab population during the past 26 years.
With evident data gaps in ecological monitoring of the crabs, the sustainability of the industry must go under the spotlight.
“For all of these reasons and more, we have recommended that the proposed Wildlife Trade Operation for wild harvest and commercial export of land hermit crabs be rejected.”