FREEPORT, Maine — July 9, 2013 — In recent years, clammers say the rapid growth of the green crabs along sections of Maine’s coast has ravaged shellfish populations, particularly mussels and soft-shell clams.
There is concern now that even Maine’s lobster industry may be at risk.
Clammer Clint Goodenow motored his skiff up to a small white buoy in the Harraseeket River on Monday afternoon and began pulling up yards of rope from the bay floor below.
After reaching the end of the rope, he leaned over the side of the boat and plunged his hands into the water, grabbing hold of a black metal trap. In what appeared to be a delicate balance, Goodenow heaved the trap into the small boat, positioned it above a gray rectangular storage container, and flipped open the latch at the bottom.
Dozens of European green crabs crashed into the container — some 1 or 2 inches across, others 5 or 6. He then pounded the top and sides of the trap to knock loose the remaining crabs.
Three traps later, the 100-pound container was brimming with crabs. Some attempted to spring loose but quickly were snatched up and shut in with a lid.
Goodenow, who is part of the largest effort in the state’s history to study the decline of shellfish populations, describes the swarms of crabs he has seen in the last few years like something from a horror movie.
“They just boil out of the water,” he said.
Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News