Mittencrabs in Europe – What do we know so far?
The Global Change Ecology Centre, in collaboration with the Flemish Environment Agency, invites you to an afternoon symposium on the problem of the invasive Chinese mitten crab in Europe.
This symposium is organised in the framework of the Intereg North Sea project CLANCY and on the occasion of the public PhD defense of Heleen Keirsebelik. On this event we present the state-of-the-art knowledge on this species and its management.
The symposium and PhD defense will take place on Monday, 27 October 2025 at the Promotiezaal in building Q on Campus Drie Eiken, Wilrijk (Antwerp).
This event is free, yet registration is mandatory. You can register for PART 1 (symposium), PART 2 PhD defense) or both through this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSef26qRULbUXot2z47F8X2zqWc937VGdp4qi5aIgyVO7y4BOQ/viewform?usp=header
You can register till October 22, 2025.
Photo: Philippe Visterin
Program PART 1
12h30 Welcome and introduction to CLANCY
Prof. Jonas Schoelynck, University of Antwerp (Belgium)
12h45 Hidden stowaways – the potential of Eriocheir sinensis to disperse other invertebrates
Prof. Monika Normant-Saremba, University of Gdansk (Poland)
13h05 Chinese mitten crab - a practical approach in Flanders
Barbara Vael, Flemish Environment Agency (Belgium)
13h25 Chinese Mitten Crab in Sweden – to look for a needle in a haystack?
Prof. Sonja Leidenberger, University of Skövde (Sweden)
13h45 Short break
14h00 The three aims of European IAS management by example : cervids, crabs and crassula
Dr. Bram D’Hondt, Research Institute for Nature and Forest (Belgium)
14h20 Molecular insights into the invasion history of Chinese mitten crabs
Dr. Christine Ewers, Zoological Museum of the Kiel University (Germany)
14h40 Q&A with all speakers
moderated by Nick De Meersman, Flemish Environment Agency (Belgium) and CLANCY project leader
15h15 Coffee break and networking
Program PART 2
16h00 A Century of Chinese Mitten Crab invasion. Lessons learnt on the ecology and behaviour of the species in Belgium
Heleen Keirsebelik, University of Antwerp (Belgium)
18h00 End
Clancy? Clancy is a European INTERREG project coordinated by the Flemish Environment Agency (VMM) and the University of Antwerp, together with partners from Belgium, France, Germany, and Sweden. The goal: to significantly reduce mitten crab populations in European rivers while at the same time improving their ecological status.
When the Chinese mitten crab was first observed in 1912 in the Aller River in northern Germany, few expected that this strange, hairy crab species would spread so massively. Today, more than a century later, it is crystal clear: the species, most likely introduced through the ballast water of cargo ships, can now be found by the thousands in nearly every river and ditch along the coasts of the North Sea, from northern France to southern Scandinavia. For this reason, the species has been added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) list of the world’s 100 worst invasive alien species.
Eight institutes have now joined forces to develop strategies for effectively reducing mitten crab populations through the EU-funded Interreg North Sea project Clancy.
https://www.interregnorthsea.eu/clancy
* photo credit Philippe Visterin