Lummi Nation declares 'disaster' after removing over 70K invasive crab species
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Lummi Indian Business Council has passed a resolution last week declaring a disaster as they deal with an invasive grab species in the Lummi Sea Pond, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.
In recent months, more than 70,000 invasive European green crabs were captured and removed from the 750-acre sea pond.
The crabs prey on young clams, take other crabs' food and burrow where salmon need to lay eggs, which threatens the Lummi Nation's shellfish beds and salmon hatcheries.
The crab — native to Europe and northern Africa — is a highly adaptable crab and effective predator crab, according to the University of Washington's Sea Grant Washington. It also out-competes native crab species, such as Dungeness crab, and wreaks havoc on nearshore marine and estuary ecosystems.
"The appearance of the European green crab is a serious threat to our treaty fishing rights," Lummi Nation Chairman William Jones Jr. said in a press release.
"An able colonizer and efficient predator, this small shore crab has the potential to significantly alter any ecosystem it invades. It has been blamed for the collapse of the soft-shell clam industry in Maine. The green crab could threaten Dungeness crab, oyster, and clam fisheries and aquaculture operations in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia," Sea Grant Washington said on its website.
Jones said warmer water and climate change are part of the problem. The Lummi Sea Pond also provides a perfect breeding ground for the crabs, with ample food supply and safety from predators. Unless something changes, the crabs will spread throughout the Sound, according to Jones.
These conditions are why the handfuls of European green crabs first discovered in the Lummi Sea Pond in late 2019 quickly escalated to tens of thousands in 2021, according to the Lummi Nation.
A task force was established last week and is meeting to address the crisis.
"We need a huge increase in effort and resources to properly address the EGC invasion, and it’s going to take a coordinated response from tribal, state and federal partners," said Jones. "There is no time to waste in getting this threat to our treaty fishing rights under control."
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