The Skokomish Tribe will be conducting significant trapping efforts for invasive European green crab throughout Hood Canal this summer, including in Quilcene Bay after finding several dozen in one session this spring.
A total of 42 crab were removed from side channels of the bay, near the parking lot for the state tidelands on Linger Longer Road, with the largest measuring 3.3 inches wide, said Max Wiecek, the tribe’s aquatic invasive species coordinator.
“This was not entirely a full surprise, but still was kind of a shock to the system to see this many green crab in our traps along a spectrum of carapace widths and age classes,” he said. “Also, the most females we have ever caught to date is now here at Quilcene, with 12 females.”
The tribe set out 25 traps—shrimp, minnow and fukui—for an overnight soak in early June. The last time the channel had been trapped was April 1, with six individuals caught. Wiecek and the tribe’s support staff spent the rest of April and May trapping other areas along Hood Canal, filling in the gaps where there hadn’t been trapping before, finding new detections at Dabob Broadspit, Duckabush and Little Beef Creek. The tribe’s biggest green crab haul was initially at Nick’s Lagoon in Seabeck with 26 crab—until Quilcene.
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) initially started early detection trapping in Quilcene Bay in 2020, with no green crab found until 2023.
The Skokomish Tribe is setting traps in new areas to catch green crab early, whether they arrive through human activity, drifting as larvae, or moving in as adults, Wiecek said. From April through October, the tribe will be doing land-based trapping by foot, based on daytime and low timed tides, with possible subtidal trapping via boats in the future.
The spread of invasive crab has caused alarm throughout the region because they threaten tribal fisheries by feeding on clams, oysters, mussels and potentially interacting with juvenile Dungeness crab.
Because they are not always green, European green crab should be identified by their long legs and five points, or “teeth,” along each side of the shell, called a carapace. Any possible sightings should be photographed and reported to the state at nwtt.co/europeangreencrab.
A Hood Canal regional coordination group is being formed by stakeholders in the canal, including the Skokomish Tribe, to share efforts in trapping near their given locations. The lead entity has not been established yet and WDFW is coordinating until one is identified.
“Without a doubt, we will continue trapping here to put pressure on this population,” Wiecek said. “It’s still hard to say if the population is growing as there were not many young of the year (a year or less in age) caught,” he said. “Either way, it’s clear that we cannot slow down if we hope to prevent their spread further down the canal.” — Tiffany Royal
NEW DETECTIONS IN NORTH KITSAP
European green crab showed up in North Kitsap between Hood Canal and Admiralty Inlet in late May, with one caught by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe near Port Gamble Bay, and one in Races Cove near Hansville, at the tip of the Kitsap Peninsula.
“We designed our early detection monitoring to identify European green crabs in areas where they’re most likely to spread next,” said Raquel Crosier, the state’s European green crab emergency incident commander and aquatic invasive species management coordinator for WDFW.
“While these new detections are disheartening, finding them early gives us the best chance at suppressing the population and preventing further spread into southern Hood Canal and Puget Sound.”
The state, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe and other co-managers including the Skokomish Tribe and permitted partners are planning additional collaborative trapping events this summer to assess the number of European green crab in the area and to remove as many as possible. — WDFW
European green crab pulled from traps in Quilcene Bay by the Skokomish Tribe in June. Photos: Tiffany Royal
