WASHINGTON – Carbon pollution is making the Chesapeake Bay’s blue crabs bigger.

Researchers say crabs are actually thriving on the growing amount of carbon pollution that’s reaching the nation’s largest estuary from the ocean. The Washington Post reports.

The carbon makes crabs grow faster, so their shells bulk up. But the crabs don’t get any meatier.

The same carbon slows the growth of oysters, a food source for crab.

Ocean acidification over the next 75 to 100 years could lead to supersize crabs that gobble up more oysters and other organisms, throwing the bay out of whack and upsetting efforts in Maryland and Virginia to rebuild crab and oyster stocks.