1 million green crabs removed from Puget Sound in WA

March 16, 2025

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The Brief

Washington wildlife officials are finding fewer European Green Crabs in the Puget Sound region.
More than 1 million of the crabs were removed from Washington waters in 2024.
Trappings were conducted by multiple agencies to combat the invasive species.

SEATTLE – A multi-agency effort continues to battle the problem of invasive European Green Crabs in Washington waters.

More than 1 million European green crabs were trapped and removed in 2024, according to new reports from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Most of those crabs were removed from Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor along the southern Washington coast.

Dig deeper

Wildlife officials announced that green crab catch numbers have decreased in areas of the North Puget Sound Region in recent years due to sustained heavy trapping by WDFW, tribes, shellfish growers, and partners.

Below is a map of where the European Green Crabs were detected in 2024 by the Department’s Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Division staff. The blue dots represent areas where green crabs were not found, while red indicates the areas that they were found.