Molt Search Public On-beach Practice

Past Molt Search training in action (credit: Jess Newley)

Are you a beachwalker? A shell collector? Keep an eye out for invasive green crabs while you do by participating in “Molt Search“, a new early detection community science program by Washington Sea Grant & WSU Extension designed to help managers direct resources to undersearched or green crab detected beaches. It’s a systematic beach walk, where you spend 20 person-minutes collecting and identifying all crab molts you find and submit that information via the MyCoast app.

Join us on the beach Thurs. 8/29 for hands-on practice at three locations across Puget Sound. This is a follow-up event to the online training offered via Zoom on , where you’ll learn about European green crab in the region, crab ID, and Molt Search protocols.

Where: Three locations concurrently–

1. Edmonds, WA: Olympic Beach by the entrance to the Pier
2. Seattle, WA: Golden Gardens Park
3. Birch Bay, WA: Cottonwood Beach

Sign me up! Register here for the Zoom link to the associated virtual training 8/27
Can’t make it to this virtual training first? Walk-ups are welcome at Thursday’s on-beach practice!

What to bring: Clothes and footwear appropriate for walking a sandy, pebbled (dry) shoreline. A container for gathering crab shells (“molts”) into. A smartphone, ideally with the MyCoast app already downloaded.

Send any questions to: crabteam@uw.edu

Keep in touch: To keep up-to-date on future Molt Search volunteer opportunities and program updates, sign up for the “Molt-o-Meter” newsletter.