Part 3 of 3

European green crab is one of the world’s most damaging invasive species, classified as injurious by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and as a Level 1 (highest risk) prohibited species in Washington State. With some 400 sites in Washington’s inland waters offering ideal habitat for green crab, unchecked, green crab can deplete local shellfish, destroy eelgrass beds and destabilize saltwater marshes that are critical habitats for native Dungeness crab, juvenile salmon, forage fish and waterfowl.

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) Crab Team was launched in 2015 at the request of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Through the team’s efforts, a 250+ volunteer-based monitoring program was established. The species was ultimately discovered along Washington’s inland shoreline in 2016, with subsequent findings confirmed since then.

Today, Washington Sea Grant works at the nexus of citizen science, research and management to address the European green crab invasion around the Salish Sea, in collaboration with UW partners and others across the state. It also serves as a model for invasive species monitoring programs around the country. Ongoing, early detection and monitoring are vital to protect the environment, shellfish economy and tribal resources in Washington State. Learn how WSG Crab Team staff have built the volunteer-based early detection and monitoring program with assistance from collaborators at the UW and tribal, state and federal agencies.