Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Risk Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.
Eriocheir japonica, the Japanese Mitten Crab, is a catadromous crab species native to Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, eastern Russia, and southern China. This species has commercial value and supports a substantial fishery. There is possible taxonomic uncertainty regarding the specific or subspecifc status of some species within the Eriocheir genus. E. japonica has been located outside of its native range once in Oregon in 1997, but the specimen is not believed to represent an established population and no occurrences in the area have been documented since. The history of invasiveness is classified as No Known Nonnative Population. The overall climate match the contiguous United States was high, with high match found in the eastern United States and in the northern Midwest and Great Plains. There was a low match throughout much of the West. The climate match refers only to where the species can survive and not necessarily to where it can reproduce. Certainty of the assessment is low due to lack of information, taxonomic uncertainty, and reproductive requirements. The overall risk assessment category is Uncertain.