The battle to rid our waters of the invasive European green crabs is making some headway. Losing this battle could mean the end of Dungeness Crab and many other creatures in the Salish Sea. Luckily the State and Tribes are taking this very seriously, as they should.
So far this year, Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife says more than 138,000 European green crabs have been removed from Washington waters. It’s a considerable increase in green crabs captured locally than previously reported this year. A total of 85,000 were captured near Bellingham last year. (KUOW)
Filed under: Around the Salish Sea, Environmental Protection, invasive species |
This from the WSU Shore Stewards newletter earlier this month: “If you do happen to find a European green crab, please do not remove it. It is illegal to possess a live European green crab in Washington. In addition, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking the public not to kill suspected European green crabs since several native crabs are also green and may be identified incorrectly.“
Does anyone know why the state has not put a ‘kill on site’ order in place for these critters? Currently they do not allow the taking or killing of them – which is sort of confusing to me given the risks that they pose and the strength of response that the public could support. Ideas?
I don’t know Ben is that even accurate? can you point me to a website that clearly states that you can’t kill them or take them? Perhaps I can then reach out and ask someone