Crab Team Monitors Needed!

Washington Sea Grant’s Crab Team is recruiting new volunteers to participate in invasive crab monitoring on Whidbey Island and at several other sites across the state. The European green crab (Carcinus maenas) is considered to be one of the world’s worst invasive species and was first discovered in inland Washington’s waters nine years ago by Crab Team volunteers on San Juan Island. Since that time, monthly monitoring by Crab Team continues to collect important baseline data on the health of local pocket estuaries, while serving as an early detection network to quickly identify new regions of the damaging invasive species’ spread. Each month, teams of Crab Team monitors visit their assigned site to set traps and identify all native species present, keeping watch for the arrival of the invasive European green crab. Additional monitors this year are needed to help with data collection at several sites located on Whidbey Island, as well as many other locations across the 67-site network (site map: tinyurl.com/wagreencrab). To participate in this important work, fill out a new monitor interest form tinyurl.com/crabteam2025 or contact Washington Sea Grant staff at [email protected] for more information on this Crab Team monitoring network or to learn about the complementary program called Molt Search. This year's Crab Team annual training series begins on March 11th.