Washington Sea Grant Crab Team volunteers (L-R) Jack Bell, Bruce Robinson, and Craig Staude assess shoreline vegetation on San Juan Island, Westcott Bay marsh, as part of monthly monitoring. Photo by WSG Crab Team Program Coordinator, Emily Grason, 2016. Photo courtesy of Washington Sea Grant.

The volunteers are part of Washington Sea Grant’s (WSG) Crab Team — an early detection and monitoring program to look for European green crab and collect information on local marine life.

Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) is responsible for controlling aquatic invasive animals and is working closely with WSG to determine next steps for limiting further spread of the crab. The work is funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under Assistance Agreement to WDFW.

European green crab have been stowaways on ships bound for U.S. ports since the 1800s, establishing populations, eating local clams and other shellfish, and causing serious impacts. In Maine, for example, softshell clam harvests declined dramatically when the crab became established and eelgrass beds have been damaged by the invader’s digging habits. Until now, green crab populations in Washington have been limited to Pacific coastal estuaries. However, the 2012 discovery of invasive crabs in Canadian waters across the Strait of Juan de Fuca prompted WDFW investment in Salish Sea monitoring and early detection.

This week’s sighting was confirmed by green crab experts P. Sean McDonald, University of Washington (UW) and Sylvia Yamada, Oregon State University. A single, large, 3-inch adult male crab was captured during the Crab Team’s regular monitoring activity. WDFW and WSG are coordinating a response to the sighting, working with scientists at UW’s Friday Harbor Labs. McDonald, who serves as the Crab Team Science Advisor, called for action to “immediately expand and intensify trapping in the area and build capacity for future monitoring.”