North American distribution
Mitten crab burrows in a tributary off San Pablo Bay, San Francisco Bay, photographed in March 1999.
The first report of Eriocheir sinensis in North America came in 1965, when a male mitten crab was captured from the Detroit River at Windsor, Ontario.
The capture of a single mitten crab specimen from the Mississippi River delta, near Louisiana, in 1987 led to the USA banning all live mitten crab imports. But although the legislation is enforced with tough penalties, in 1992 commercial shrimp trawlers reported catching mitten crabs in the southern San Francisco Bay area, many of which were egg-bearing.
The species had spread to the northern San Francisco Bay, another important fishing location, by the summer of 1994. The population in the San Francisco Bay region is still increasing.
Key reports
| Date | Location | What | Significance |
| 1965 | Detroit River at Windsor, Ontario | 1 male | First North American report |
| 1973 | Lake Erie | 2 males and 1 female caught by commercial fishermen | |
| 1987 | Mississippi River delta, near Louisiana | 1 specimen | |
| 1992 | Southern San Francisco Bay area | Multiple specimens caught by commercial shrimp trawlers | |
| 1994 | Northern San Francisco Bay area | Multiple specimens | |
| 2004 | St Lawrence River, adjacent to Quebec City | 1 female | |
| 2006 | Chesapeake Bay and mid-Atlantic coast of North America | First records of E. sinensis from the eastern USA coast |
Map of the USA showing where mitten crabs were reported from 1965 to 1992