November 9, 2024 — The invasive European Green Crabs that have wreaked havoc on clam fisheries in Maine and the West Coast have now reached Alaska, where they could threaten subsistence, personal use, and commercial fisheries, including salmon.
“I worry about the salmonids,” says Tammy Davis, Invasive Species Program coordinator at the Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game (ADF&G). “I don’t have any evidence that they are competing for food at certain life stages, but the green crabs tear up the eelgrass that provides vital habitat for juvenile salmon and their prey, and in an already stressed ecosystem, having another stressor can affect the whole food web.”
So far, the green crabs are far less abundant than they are in Washington State, but Davis notes that Southeast Alaska has the kind of real estate green crabs like. “In Southeast Alaska, we have an estimated 19,000 miles of coastline and much of it is suitable habitat for green crabs.” She adds that many of the islands and passages of the Southeast archipelago have estuaries with eelgrass meadows protected from heavy surf, providing food and protection for green crabs.