The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and a coalition of more than fifty tribal co-managers and federal partners captured more than 2.16 million invasive European green crabs during the 2026 fiscal year, marking the largest annual removal in state history.
Field crews utilized specialized Fukui folding traps, minnow traps, and modified shrimp pots baited with frozen fish carcasses to intercept crabs across vast intertidal mudflats.
Native juvenile Dungeness crabs, which rely on intact eelgrass shoots to evade fish predators and larger crustacean competitors like adult red rock crabs, suffer double attrition through structural habitat loss and direct predation.
Salish Sea Line Holds at Hood Canal and Admiralty Inlet While coastal bays contend with millions of invaders, trapping crews in the Salish Sea have maintained an aggressive containment firewall to prevent the crabs from establishing permanent footholds throughout Puget Sound.
Manila clam beds are uniquely vulnerable because juvenile seed planted in tidal substrate sits directly within the burrowing depth of adult green crabs, which crack fragile shells with powerful crushing claws.
State biologists, tribes, and coastal shellfish growers captured over 2.16 million invasive European green crabs in fiscal year 2026, mounting an unprecedented containment effort to protect eelgrass beds, Dungeness nurseries, and a $400 million aquaculture economy.