Mid Autumn Festival is coming, and this year it’s early. And that’s compounding the problem that is hairy crabs vs heatwave. Turns out we won’t have enough of them, because they’ve already been literally roasted.
Falling this year on 10 September, Mid Autumn Festival would not be complete without a full moon and hairy crabs. At least, that’s in eastern China, where hairy crabs, known elsewhere as Chinese mitten crab (on account of their mitten-like pincers), are an autumn delicacy.
今年9月10日，没有满月和大闸蟹的中秋节就不完整。至少，在中国东部，大闸蟹（在其他地方被称为大闸蟹（因其钳子像手套））是秋天的美味佳肴。
But in 2022, the heatwave is playing havoc with their hairs.
但到了 2022 年，热浪对他们的头发造成了严重破坏。
Hairy crabs are bred in many parts of eastern China, but our very own Jiangsu Province can be argued to be their ancestral, hairy home. In particular, the main breeding grounds for hairy crabs are located in Suzhou, Wuxi, Gaoyou (Yangzhou) and Xinghua (Taizhou).
中国东部许多地区都有大闸蟹养殖，但我们江苏省可以说是大闸蟹的发源地。其中，大闸蟹的主要养殖地位于苏州、无锡、高邮（扬州）和兴化（泰州）。
These cities have of late all experienced temperatures in excess of 39 degrees Celsius. That’s led to water-surface temperatures of 35 degrees in the crabs’ breeding grounds. For them, that’s a sauna.
这些城市最近都经历了超过39摄氏度的气温。这导致螃蟹繁殖地的水面温度高达 35 度。对他们来说，那就是桑拿房。
Zhu Yandin is a crab farmer at the Jiatian Hairy Crab Farm in Jiangyin City of Wuxi who has been engaged in crab breeding for decades. She told The Paper that this year’s season has been particularly difficult.
朱彦丁是无锡江阴市嘉田大闸蟹养殖场的蟹农，从事螃蟹养殖数十年。她告诉澎湃新闻，今年的产季特别困难。
“In the process of hairy crab shelling this year, their mortality rate is much higher than that in previous years. Therefore, when hairy crabs come on the market in late September, high-quality crabs will definitely cost significantly more”, Zhu said.
“今年大闸蟹在脱壳过程中，死亡率比往年高很多。因此，9月下旬大闸蟹上市时，优质蟹的价格肯定会上涨很多。”朱说。
The high temperatures increase evaporation rates in the lake waters that are the hairy crabs’ home. This can lead to their death due to serious hypoxia. The temperatures also bring about a proliferation of floating algae, affecting the growth of aquatic plants and disrupting the hairy crabs’ food chain.
高温增加了大闸蟹栖息地湖水的蒸发率。这可能会导致它们因严重缺氧而死亡。气温升高还会导致浮藻大量繁殖，影响水生植物的生长，扰乱大闸蟹的食物链。
But none of this has stopped attempts at cashing in. Reporters up north for the Beiqing Daily visited Sam’s Club, Carrefour and BHG supermarkets to find hairy crab coupons already sold out.
但这并没有阻止人们套现的企图。北青报记者北上走访山姆会员店、家乐福、北京华联等超市，发现大闸蟹优惠券已经售罄。
And so it seems that Nanjingers and many others looking for their crabs this year may be going hungry. Or at least, their wallets are going to feel a lot lighter.
因此，南京人和许多其他今年寻找螃蟹的人可能会挨饿。或者至少，他们的钱包会感觉轻了很多。
While they may be a delicacy in this part of the world, crabs are not always welcome elsewhere. In the Western Hemisphere, the European Commission (EC) put the Chinese mitten crab on their list of “Invasive Alien Species of Union Concern” on 3 August, 2016. Under “Nature and Biodiversity”, the EC states, “Member States are required … ‘to take measures for the early detection and rapid eradication of these species’”.
虽然螃蟹在世界这个地区可能是美味佳肴，但在其他地方并不总是受欢迎。在西半球，欧盟委员会 (EC) 于 2016 年 8 月 3 日将中华绒螯蟹列入“欧盟关注的外来入侵物种”名单。在“自然与生物多样性”项下，欧盟委员会指出，“成员国必须……‘采取措施及早发现并迅速消灭这些物种’”。
The Nanjinger warns that crabs should only be cooked alive. Deceased crabs are infested with a toxin that is extremely dangerous if consumed, leading to what is known as “seafood poisoning” or “ciguatera poisoning”, derived from ciguatoxin, one of the most prevalent forms of aquatic food-borne contagion.
南京人警告说，螃蟹只能生吃。死亡的螃蟹沾有一种毒素，如果食用，会极其危险，导致所谓的“海鲜中毒”或“雪卡中毒”，这种毒素源自雪卡毒素，是最常见的水生食源性传染病之一。
