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The carapace, or upper shell, of an invasive European green crab and a live green crab are shown in this undated photo. (Linda Shaw \/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries) <\/p>\nThe carapace, or upper shell, of an invasive European green crab and a live green crab are shown in this undated photo. (Linda Shaw \/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries) <\/p>\n
When a young Sealaska intern walking a beach in July 2022 found the first evidence<\/a> of European green crab presence in Alaska \u2014 a discarded shell on a beach on Annette Island in the state\u2019s far southeast corner \u2014 it was an ominous sign about the invasive species\u2019 northward spread.<\/p>\n Since then, the Metlakatla Indian Community<\/a>, the tribe based on Annette Island, and its partners, which include Alaska Sea Grant, have found not just more shells, but live invasive crabs. Discoveries numbered just a handful at first, then dozens, then hundreds, then thousands.<\/p>\n This year, the Metlakatla tribe\u2019s team has trapped more than 40,000 of them on and around Annette Island, a representative said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis year we\u2019ve had a complete explosion of green crab \u2014 over seven new locations on Annette Island we found green crab, and eight new locations off Annette Island,\u201d said Nicole Reynolds, an environmental specialist working with the tribe, in a presentation at a three-day Anchorage meeting on invasive species in Alaska in late October.<\/p>\n The more than 40,000 crabs removed this year compares to last year\u2019s total of 1,800, Reynolds said.<\/p>\n European green crabs are small, usually measuring no more than 4 inches wide, but they are powerful forces of destruction<\/a>. They mow down eelgrass beds that are vital habitat for salmon and other native species. And they gobble up native marine life like juvenile salmon, clams, mussels and juvenile Dungeness and other crabs that are important to commercial and subsistence harvests.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ll eat the baby crabs. They\u2019re meaner and tougher than the Dungeness,\u201d Reynolds said during a break in the annual Alaska Invasive Species Partnership<\/a> Workshop.<\/p>\n European green crabs have already spread north of Annette Island. Last year, they were found at Gravina Island, and this summer they were found by participants in a local university class at beaches in Ketchikan<\/a> that lie about 30 miles north of the initial Annette Island discovery site.<\/p>\n Just in October, they were found at Etolin Island, Reynolds said. Etolin Island is roughly 60 miles northwest of the city of Ketchikan, making it the northernmost North America discovery to date.<\/p>\n And now European green crabs appear to be entrenched in Alaska waters for good, Reynolds and Genelle Winter, a grant administrator with the tribal government, told the workshop audience.<\/p>\n That means the fight against green crabs will also have to be long-term, Winter said, with a permanent staff and a strategy of what is known as \u201cfunctional eradication.\u201d That is an eradication strategy that accepts the reality of the invaders\u2019 presence in some places, but tries to keep them out of other places with resources that are most important to protect.<\/p>\n Such a strategy involves \u201cfocusing all our efforts on protecting the most vital subsistence and commercial resources,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Conditions in Alaska waters, the farthest-north spots in North America where the crabs have spread, do not faze the invaders, DNA analysis shows. For that information, the tribe consulted with an expert, Carolyn Tepolt of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Tepolt has also been investigating the genetics<\/a> of green crabs that have invaded Washington state.<\/p>\n Tepolt\u2019s analysis found that the green crabs in Alaska are a genetic blend of those in Washington and British Columbia, diverse enough to persist in the more northern waters, Reynolds said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe even called it a \u2018super-crab\u2019 just because of how perfectly genetically suited it is for the environment in Southeast Alaska,\u201d Reynolds said.<\/p>\n European green crabs have been altering North American marine ecosystems for a long time.<\/p>\n They were first found in East Coast waters in the early 1800s, likely carried there in ship ballast water. The first West Coast discovery was in 1989 in San Francisco Bay. Since then, they have been spreading north<\/a> up the Pacific coast. They were first confirmed in British Columbia in 1999 and continued moving up that Canadian province\u2019s coast before being found at Annette Island three years ago.<\/p>\n Beyond the accidental releases through ballast water, scientists say warming conditions<\/a> are aiding the spread of green crabs. Larvae are more likely to survive in warmer waters brought on by climate change<\/a> and weather events like El Nino cycles.<\/p>\n The 2023-2024 El Nino<\/a>, which warmed Alaska waters, is a possible factor in this year\u2019s explosion of green crabs in Southeast Alaska, the Metlakatla tribal representatives said.<\/p>\n Warmer temperatures than those that used to be normal in Alaska marine waters are known to encourage green crab proliferation.<\/p>\n A study<\/a> by Danish scientists that was published in September identifies a temperature range that appears ideal for the crabs. At temperatures of 12.5 to 16.6 degrees Celsius, or 54.5 to 61.9 degrees Fahrenheit, European green crab abundance peaked, the scientists found.<\/p>\n Average temperatures<\/a> in Southcentral Alaska\u2019s Cook Inlet were within that range this August, an indication that conditions would be suitable for green crabs if they somehow reach that area.<\/p>\n Preparations are already underway in Alaska for what experts believe is an inevitable spread north from the Southeast region.<\/p>\n In Southcentral Alaska\u2019s Kachemak Bay, more than 700 miles northwest of Ketchikan, residents this summer deployed over 60 traps in what was effectively a pre-invasion drill. The program<\/a> was a cooperative effort of the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Seldovia Village Tribe and its council member, Michael Opheim, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.<\/p>\n There and elsewhere, a big part of the fight against green crab infestations is public education.<\/p>\n European green crabs can be identified<\/a> by the array of bumps on their shells. They have five sharp spikes on either side of their eyes and three lobes in between their eyes. Despite their name, they are not always green \u2014 they can be red, yellow or mottled. Some of those found by her team have even been blue, Reynolds said.<\/p>\n To help boost awareness, local Tsimshian artist Elizabeth Anderson<\/a> has designed a green crab logo \u2014 with an angry face to reinforce the message that the species is a bad actor, Winter said.<\/p>\n In Metlakatla, awareness appears to be keen already, including among some of the youngest residents.<\/p>\n \u201cThe other day, the mayor was driving down the street and got flagged down by two little kids. And they said, \u2018We found some green crab! We know its green crab because it\u2019s 5-3-5,\u2019\u201d Winter said during the workshop presentation. The numbers reference the array of shell bumps on a green crab. \u201cThose little kids absolutely knew how to identify the European green crab.\u201d<\/p>\n Those crabs, found at a beach right in front of town, were stashed in a plastic bag and added to this year\u2019s count, Winter said.<\/p>\n Aside from identifying, trapping, counting, measuring and analyzing the European green crabs, the inundated community faces another challenge: what to do with thousands of unwanted invaders.<\/p>\n In Metlakatla, the ultimate destination is the community compost heap. That is a good end use, Reynolds said. \u201cThey add heat to the compost, and because it\u2019s cold and wet in Southeast, it\u2019s actually really helpful to have more heat,\u201d she told workshop attendees.<\/p>\n On the East Coast and elsewhere, some of the eradication work involves eating the invaders<\/a>. Experts say they have little meat but can be useful for making soups. One organization, Greencrab.org<\/a>, has compiled recipes and sells a cookbook and T-shirts with a catchy slogan: \u201cIf you can\u2019t beat them, eat them.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2ERZSX2WRVFSJJOXANGC3I4HHU.jpg\")
Nicole Reynolds, an environmental specialist with the Metlakatla Indian Community, shows a photo stored on her phone of an unusual-looking European green crab collected this year. The tribal government is at the forefront of the campaign to try to control the spread of the invasive species, which eats native species and damages habitat used by fish. Reynolds presented information about the tribe\u2019s work at the annual Alaska Invasive Species Partnership Workshop in Anchorage in October 2025. (Yereth Rosen \/ Alaska Beacon) <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/XJU4PSHYTNGJXN74WXICOJNX6A.jpg\")
European green crab specimens preserved in plastic are displayed on Oct. 28, 2025, at the annual Alaska Invasive Species Partnership Workshop in Anchorage. Although they are called green crabs, they come in different colors, and heat can turn their shells orange. (Yereth Rosen \/ Alaska Beacon) <\/p>\n