Marine & Estuarine Resiliency
Invasive Species Mitigation: European Green Crab
Grays Harbor Conservation District has implemented a European Green Crab program in order to help mitigate the invasive European Green Crab spread within our community. Our program is actively trapping, removing, and documenting the abundance of the invasive European Green Crab within Grays Harbor. These continued efforts are being executed with the goal of protecting the native ecosystem.
WHAT IS A EUROPEAN GREEN CRAB?
The European Green Crab is a small shore crab who is native to the northeast Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. The European Green Crab is a very effective predator who is highly skilled at opening bivalve shells. They have become a globally damaging invasive species that poses a threat to native shellfish, eelgrass, and estuary habitat critical for salmon and many other species. This species was first discovered on the West Coast in 1989 and then on the Washington Coast in 1998 in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor. Free floating larvae can easily get into ships ballast water, which is likely how they were transported to their non-native regions.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A EUROPEAN GREEN CRAB
European Green Crab are a prohibited species, it is illegal to possess a live European Green Crab in the state of Washington. We are also asking that the public not kill suspected green crabs. This is in order to protect our native shore crabs that are commonly mistaken for green crab. If you suspect that you have found a European Green Crab or the shell from one, report it as soon as possible.
European Green Crab have been found all across the harbor. Sightings
include locations such as Westport Marina, Chehalis River, Hoquiam River,
North bay, and the Quinault Marina in Ocean Shores. These locations and
more are trapped and assessed by GHCD and our partners. Though we
know EGC are present, reports by the public lead us to unique locations
and populations we may not have been aware of, or EGC may be found
farther upriver than we expected.
EUROPEAN GREEN CRAB REMOVAL
160,269
European Green Crabs Removed to Date
All-time program total
Catch totals reflect European green crabs captured through the district's trapping efforts. Trapping results can vary with season, location, and effort.
11,768
Crabs captured
154
Traps set
September 2026
Our European green crab trapping efforts continue to remove this invasive species from local waters. Catch totals are updated throughout the season to track our progress and share the results of ongoing trapping efforts.
European Green Crab in Grays Harbor
This map shows locations European Green Crab are being trapped throughout Grays Harbor by Grays Harbor Conservation District and our partners.
This size of each point is correlated to the
number European Green Crab removed. Larger points represent up to 20,000 EGC
removed annually.
If you would like more information about EGC actions in a specific location,
feel free to reach out to our Marine Resiliency Program Manager.
If you are interested in joining our volunteer program, sign up using our Volunteer Sheet
