Invasion of the red crabs

You might call it the invasion of the red crabs! Pelagic crabs are also known as tuna crabs because tunas eat them. These tiny little critters are one to three inches in size. They roll in like a red carpet and blanket beaches from San Diego to Seal Beach. So, far this year's group of red crabs hasn't been as large as last years, but all of that could change.

Lifeguard Battallion Chief Brent Jacobsen told us, "Once again, El Nino has served us up some red crabs. The currents from the south have brought in several thousand red crabs."

David Bader is the Educational Director for the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. He says "They're typically found in open ocean… open water conditions. And, they're typically found further south.

He adds, "They're really not strong swimmers. Currents or waves can wash them ashore... So, once they're on shore they might be alive but they're on their way to being dead." Because this isn't they're environment. It's hard for them to survive in it.

Sharri and Steve Miller were on a tour boat just before we caught up with them. They saw a bunch out in the ocean. And, the experts tell us we could see more of these in the days to come.

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