What species of crab?

[TidalCreek]

I live in coastal NC on a saltwater creek/marsh. I have crabs which are destroying my vegetables, mainly my tomatoes. These crabs don't appear to be fiddler crabs. They are greyish/black  in color and small, their claws are small and the same size and they are about the size of a Kennedy half dollar. Does anyone know what species this is? I'm considering putting a couple of boxes of rotten vegetables around the perimter to distract them.

[primeline31]

It's very possible that these may be an outbreak of invasive, non-native crabs.

If you can't identify them, capture a couple and freeze them in a plastic bag. Contact your Dept. of Environmental Conservation.

The DEC in most states are on the alert for the Chinese Mitten Crab or (as the Chinese restaurants call them) Hairy Crab. Google Image them and see if your crabs look like them.

The Mitten Crab breeds in salt water but prefer to live very in lightly brackish or even completely fresh water. They are now a serious pest in some places in California. Last yr, a few were found in the Chesapeake bay and 2 were found in the Hudson River, north of NY City.

If found, the DEC insists that NO Mitten Crab be released, that they should be frozen and the DEC notified ASAP.