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Chinese mitten crabs have burrowed into the beds of the beautiful canals of Bruges and are wreaking havoc in Belgium’s waterways.
中国的河蟹已经在布鲁日美丽的运河河床里挖洞了，在比利时河道泛滥成灾。
The extent of the freshwater crab invasion was exposed after a single trap in the Flemish municipality of Grobbendonk caught 715,000 crabs in six months, twice as many as last year,
佛兰德斯的格罗本顿克市一个捕蟹装置六个月内就捕捉了715,000只螃蟹，是去年的两倍，由此可以看出这种淡水蟹的入侵规模了。
In Bruges, called the “Venice of the North” because of its iconic canals, a mitten crab was spotted strolling through the Graf Visartpark park with its hairy pincers held nonchalantly aloft.
布鲁日因其标志性的运河而有“北方威尼斯”的美称，有一只河蟹被发现在格拉夫维萨特公园里举着毛茸茸的钳子在悠闲地散步。
The mitten crabs, so named for their furry claws, are listed as one of the 100 most invasive alien species in the world. They have no natural predators in Europe and compete with native species for food.
这种绒蝥蟹因毛茸茸的钳子而得名，入选世界100种最具侵略性的外来物种，在欧洲没有天敌，还和当地物种争食。 They destroy rivers and unbalance ecosystems by shredding and eating everything they find on river beds. They can even damage infrastructure such as dams or destroy fishing gear.
它们会粉碎并吃掉所有在河床上找到的东西，从而破坏河流和生态系统的平衡，甚至还能破坏水坝这样的基础设施，或者毁掉渔具。
Plans for a second Flemish crab trap are underway. Once caught, the crabs, which normally live in coastal areas in Eastern Asia, are killed but the increasing numbers have meant that costs have soared.
佛兰德斯正计划再投放一个捕蟹装置，这些本该生活在东亚沿海地区的螃蟹被捕捉后会被杀掉，但螃蟹数量持续增长也意味着捕蟹成本会飙升。
Authorities are mulling over whether to try and sell the captured crabs back to China, where they are a culinary delicacy. Live crabs are sold from vending machines in China and Ms Smet said the lock on the crab trap in Flanders had been forced by someone “interested in our catch”.
当地政府正考虑是否要试试把捕捉到的螃蟹卖回中国，在中国河蟹就是一道美味佳肴。中国的自动售卖机里就出售活螃蟹，Smet女士说有“对我们捕蟹感兴趣的”人把佛兰德斯的捕蟹装置强行上锁。
Selling the crabs would require private sector involvement. It is not clear that the crabs would be safe to eat but they could also be ground to make fish food.
售卖螃蟹就需要私人部门的参与，还不清楚这些螃蟹是否适合食用，但也可以把它们碾碎当鱼食。
The crabs are thought to have travelled to Europe from China in water taken on by ships as ballast. When the ballast water was emptied, the crabs were flushed out into European waters.
普遍认为这些螃蟹是从中国随着装船作压舱物的水带入了欧洲，压舱水被放出时，螃蟹也就被冲进了欧洲水域中。 | 
