Diver Swims Over Giant Pile of Spider Crabs

Thousands of giant spider crabs gathered on the seabed off Rosebud, Victoria, to molt their shells on Saturday, June 8, diver footage showed. Footage recorded by Jules Casey shows the masses of crabs on the seabed. "We swam out about 600 meters from the beach and found the crabs about four meters deep," Casey said. Other local marine life like stingrays and sharks also gathered in the area, Casey said, because they "know that there's going to be soft-shell crabs in abundance soon." She estimated that the crabs would cover an area equivalent to three basketball courts and were stacked 10 crabs high in places. Parks Victoria https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/news/2021/05/21/03/16/spider-crabs-in-port-phillip-bay said on their website that growing crabs gather around the full moon in May or June to shed their too-small exoskeletons. "Usually within a couple of hours of shedding they're just firm enough to be able to start walking. But while they're at their most vulnerable, it is a feeding frenzy for predators like cormorants, pacific gulls, octopus and stingrays," the website said. (Footage by Jules Casey/Storyful via Getty Images UGC)