Invasive European green crab continue to infiltrate waters of the Salish Sea, with detections in the homelands of the Tulalip and Swinomish tribes last year.
Both tribes have been engaged in efforts to detect the first signs of green crab in their regions. Each activated a trapping effort after the first sightings.
In August, Tulalip Tribes staff discovered a live crab at Mission Beach along the tribes’ reservation lands, between routine green crab monitoring sites managed by the tribe with support from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). The capture marked the first confirmed sighting of green crab within the Whidbey basin of north Puget Sound. Tulalip transferred the crab to Washington Sea Grant for genetic analysis.
“This changes the game for us,” said Todd Gray, Tulalip environmental protection ecologist. “We’re doubling our exploratory efforts and preparing for a quick shift in trapping effort as more of these green monsters inevitably pop up.”
In September, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community was alerted to a green crab shell found on the beach of Similk Bay off the tribe’s reservation. In partnership with Washington Sea Grant and WDFW, the tribe coordinated deployment of 343 traps in Similk Bay, Kiket Lagoon and areas of Whidbey basin in October that resulted in the capture of 12 live green crabs.
“Fisheries department staff knew that green crab would eventually reach our shores, but it was still disheartening to catch those first few crabs,” said Talia Davis, a Swinomish fisheries technician.
Trapping will resume throughout the North Sound region in the spring.
Genetic research in recent years has shown that invasive green crabs captured in Washington have had origins from both the first West Coast population, established in the San Francisco Bay area, and the first Salish Sea population, established in Sooke Bay off Canada’s Vancouver Island.
The European green crab’s ability to move easily through the water to new habitat and thrive in versatile environments is in part what makes it menacing. In the Pacific Northwest, the species is a particular threat to fragile eelgrass and coastal marsh ecosystems, where it may prey on and compete with native species like Dungeness crab and bivalve shellfish.
Since the state issued an emergency order in January 2022, nearly 3 million invasive green crab have been removed in trapping efforts, often led or supported by tribes, including the Lummi Nation, Makah Tribe, Skokomish Indian Tribe, Quinault Indian Nation and others. About 1.1 million crabs were removed during 2025 alone.
The state, tribes and other partners agree that the pervasive green crab cannot likely be eliminated from Washington waters now that it’s here. But removing as many as possible helps give Dungeness crab, shellfish, eelgrass and other native species a fighting chance against the invasive species.
“While coast-wide eradication may not be possible, early detection and focused local suppression efforts are already reducing impacts and protecting sensitive species and habitats from this harmful species,” a WDFW report states.
Left and above: A European green crab captured unexpectedly by Tulalip staff during a beach seine. Tulalip Tribes photos. Story by Kimberly Cauvel
