A spike in the number of tanner crabs along the Pacific coast to the west of Hokkaido's Cape Erimo has become a mixed blessing for locals.
The crabs, smaller in size and lower in market value than snow crabs, have caused trouble for fishery workers by biting through flounder nets. However, they have become popular with consumers due to their lower prices.
"They're annoying. They shouldn't have been caught," Shuji Kikuchi, 69, said with a sigh as he returned to port after fishing for flounder in the early morning of June 12. He found tanner crabs caught in the gill nets. Kikuchi, along with two family members, removed the crabs by hand. The nets had been chewed up by the creatures.
