Help Cancún’s Blue Crabs Cross Safely

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Environmental authorities have issued an appeal to drivers traveling along the Kukulcán Boulevard, urging them to reduce their speed to avoid hitting blue crabs that are crossing from the lagoon to the beach to spawn.

The director general of Ecology for the Benito Juárez municipality, Fernando Haro Salinas, explained that the reproductive cycle of the blue crabs is linked to the lunar cycle and the rainy season, which occurs between the months of September and October. He called on citizens to slow down, particularly after 6:00 p.m., when driving in the areas near Playa Las Perlas and Playa Nizuc.

Haro Salinas added that, in collaboration with the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat), the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp), the Tourist Police, Municipal Transit, the General Directorate of Public Services, and trained volunteers, operations are being carried out to protect this species during its crossing from the mangrove to the coastal zone for its spawning process. This effort is intended to guarantee the crabs' life cycle.

The municipal official reminded citizens and visitors that if they encounter any specimen of this species, they can report it through the 911 emergency number or via the official social media channels of Ecología Cancún on Facebook. Specialized personnel will then be dispatched to assist the crustaceans.

The director of Ecology lamented that in these first days of the season, a reduction has been recorded in the number of female crabs reaching the sea, with a count of only 135. This figure is significantly lower than numbers reached in previous years.

He explained that typically 80 volunteers participate in supporting the crabs' crossing, but even with that number, they have not been able to increase the count of female crabs that leave the lagoon to reach the sea and spawn.

In his opinion, issues such as poaching and human intervention are partly responsible for the reduced number of females reaching their nests. He called on the population to facilitate the crossing of these animals.