Photographed in November 2005, this reed bed on the southern bank of Chiswick Eyot in the River Thames, London, is peppered with probable mitten crab burrows. The remnants of the collapsing bank can be seen on the beach in the foreground.
The ovaries and testes of mitten crabs are considered to be a delicacy in southeast Asia. Consequently mitten crabs are a seasonal product, consumed during the autumn migration period when the gonads are ripening.
