SEQUIM — State agencies and resource management groups report more than 1 million European green crabs were removed from Washington’s shorelines in 2024.
That’s a significant increase alongside trapping efforts to minimize the impact of one of the world’s most invasive species.
Neil Harrington, environmental biologist for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, said at an informational meeting Feb. 25 in the Dungeness River Nature Center that the crab, sometimes green and sometimes not, is distinct for its five spines on each side of its eyes and grows up to 4inches wide.
“It’s rated one of the world’s worst 100 invasive species because it’s adaptable and produces a lot of eggs,” he said.
Researchers previously reported one female green crab can release up to half a million larvae per brood, and those larvae can travel as far as 100 kilometers in their earliest stages.
The crab destroys eelgrass, eats clams and oysters, causes salt marsh erosion and competes with native crab species, Harrington said.
Green crabs were first detected in the Sequim/Dungeness area in 2017 through early detection sites.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that 305 green crabs were captured in eastern Clallam County and all of Jefferson County last year, including Discovery Bay, where crabs were discovered in 2022.
The agency’s European Green Crab Hub map online shows another 42 green crab were found in the western Strait of Juan de Fuca from Port Angeles to Cape Flattery in 2024, and 7,984 were trapped in the north coast area, including the Tsoo-Yess and Wa’atch Rivers by the Makah Tribe, which has continued its trapping efforts since 2018.
Harrington said he caught one green crab after setting more than 200 traps in Sequim Bay last year. It was the first he’s found since 2022.
At the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, Fawn Wagner, its refuge manager, said staff and volunteers caught 89 crabs in 2024, down from 105 in 2023, with 1,677 traps set last year and 1,904 the year before.
Wagner said they continue to do early detection on Protection Island and have not discovered any green crab there.
Asked about funding for the Refuge after changes and cuts in federal spending, Wagner said they have funding for the next two years and will continue to operate as usual.
Most of Washington’s record green crab captures came from Willapa Bay, where more than 900,000 green crab were captured.
Volunteering
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe seeks volunteers for the upcoming trapping season to detect, identify and capture European green crab from early April to late September or early October.
Wagner said they need volunteers to maintain their trapping efforts. Those interested should be able to commit to a few trapping days a month with shifts during the week and some weekends, depending on tides.
Shifts will be about two to three hours, Wagner said, with volunteers needing to be able to walk, kneel and carry up to 25 pounds.
Those interested can contact Volunteer Coordinator Leshell Michaluk-Bergan at leshell@dungenessrivercenter.org.
Washington Sea Grant’s Crab Team Monitoring Network hosts various virtual and in-person trainings through March. For more information, visit tinyurl.com/crabteam2025.
Volunteers can choose to work with the Refuge’s team through their network as well. Washington Sea Grant has 67 green crab-monitoring sites in Washington.
If you find a green crab
Fish and Wildlife staff report that if you find a suspected European green crab or its shell in Washington, take photos and report it as soon as possible by calling the WDFW Aquatic Invasive Species hotline at 1-888-933-9247 or emailing staff at ais@dfw.wa.gov.
Staff said it may seem counterintuitive not to take or kill the green crab, but they want to prevent mistaken identity.
Find identifying tips at www.wsg.washington.edu/crabteam/greencrab or www.wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/invasive/greatest-concern/egc.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
