Callinectes Bocourti (Swimming Crab)

The Callinectes Bocourti is a paddle-legged swimming crab of sheltered coasts. These crabs favour sandy or muddy bottoms in shallow bays, mangrove channels, and seagrass edges. It’s most likely around broad, calm water such as Prince Rupert Bay, the mouth of the Indian River, and the mangrove-lined coves near the Cabrits Marine Reserve, places where fine sediments and estuary outflow collect. After windy spells, individuals may also turn up along quiet beaches near channel mouths.

Ecology and Identification

Medium-sized with a wide, laterally spined carapace and oar-like hind legs, this crab is built for quick bursts in the water and sudden digs into the substrate. Colors run olive-brown to gray with bluish tinges on the claws and paddles. It scavenges and hunts small bivalves, worms, and fish, helping recycle organic matter and linking nearshore food webs within marine ecosystems. Juveniles use mangrove roots and seagrass as cover, while adults roam open flats; both become prey for snappers, jacks, and herons, making them a regular feature of coastal wildlife.

Sightings and Best Viewing Areas

Shallow snorkels at dusk along the inner fringe of Prince Rupert Bay often reveal crabs cruising just above the bottom or buried with only eyes exposed. On very calm nights, scan sandy tongues at the Indian River mouth for quick sprints followed by a rapid dig. Shore anglers and boatmen sometimes encounter the species incidentally; landing areas like the Portsmouth Fisheries Complex provide opportunities to see specimens up close and learn more about harvest practices tied to fishing in Dominica.