State agencies and resource management groups report more than one 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 on 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 four inches 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 Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that last year 305 green crabs were captured in Eastern Clallam County and all of Jefferson County, 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 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, who has continued its trapping efforts since 2018.

According to Harrington, 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 in southwestern Washington 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, and 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-three hours, Wagner said, with volunteers needing to be able to walk, kneel and carry up to 25 pounds

Those interested in becoming a Green Crab Monitor at the Refuge 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 with more information at 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 wsg.washington.edu/crabteam/greencrab/ or wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/invasive/greatest-concern/egc.

Photo courtesy Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe/ Trapping efforts for the invasive European green crab continue across the Olympic Peninsula including Dungeness and Sequim. In Sequim Bay, one green crab was captured in 2024, and 89 crabs at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. Resource managers seek to lessen the green crab’s population because it’s known to destroy eelgrass, eat clams and oysters, cause salt marsh erosion, and compete with native crab species.

Photo courtesy Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe A volunteer helps at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge detect and trap European green crab. The refuge seeks more volunteers for various shifts from April to September/October by emailing Volunteer Coordinator Leshell Michaluk-Bergan at leshell@dungenessrivercenter.org.