PAT NEAL: Green crab confusion
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 11, 2026
THANK YOU FOR reading this. Sometimes, I think if you didn’t read this, no one would, but you do. I know this from the letters and emails I receive about the column.
Recently, there was a complaint about the inaccuracies of the column about National Invasive Species Week. It’s an international event dedicated to raising awareness about invasive species, the threats they pose and the actions that can be taken to prevent their spread.
The column was about invasive species in general and the European green crab in particular. I described the green crab as “The King Kong of invasive species.”
Native to the northeast Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea, the green crab has migrated around the world in the bilge water of ship hulls, earning the title of being among the world’s 100 worst alien invasive species.
The European Green crab first reared its ugly head on our Pacific Coast in 1961 at Willapa Bay, where it was suspected to have arrived in seaweed that lobsters from the East Coast were packed in. By the 1990s, green crab were found from Northern California to British Columbia. The green crab are trouble because they can dig down 6 inches, eat small clams and oysters and destroy eelgrass beds that are critical habitat for everything from Dungeness crab to salmon.
I wrote about the contrast between green crab regulations in Oregon, where crabbers are allowed to retain 35 green crab a day, and Washington, where I stated it was illegal to keep a green crab. Where did I get the idea that it was illegal to keep a green crab in Washington? That would be on page 145 of the current Washington Sport Fishing Rules, where it states:
“European green crabs are classified as prohibited species and it is illegal to retain/harvest them. If you suspect you have found a green crab or molt, please leave the crab where you found it.”
That was good enough for me, but I should have read the regulations further.
Thankfully, a sharp-eyed reader, Chase Gunnel of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, was kind enough to inform me that my allegations regarding state regulations around invasive European green crab are simply not true. Gunnel also referred to the Fishing Regulations where, if you read further, it says:
“Under Washington state regulations prohibited invasive species may be killed and retained if the person is certain about species identification and assumes responsibility for correct identification and adherence to state rules and fishing regulations.”
Gunnel also stated that WDFW is not asking the public to kill suspected green crabs.
“This is to protect native crab species, which are often misidentified, particularly helmet, kelp and hairy shore crabs. It might be hard to let a crab go when you are concerned it could be invasive,” he said. “But keep in mind WDFW will respond quickly to confirmed sightings in new areas, and the best thing you can do is to get the information to us as soon as possible.”
I’d like to use this opportunity to thank Gunnel for pointing this out and to apologize to the WDFW for the inaccuracies in this column. My only defense being that the current crabbing regulations say two different things: 1. It is illegal to retain/harvest the invasive green crab and 2. Invasive species may be killed and retained if the person is certain about identification. All of which should serve to confirm the belief that if you fish and or crab in Washington state and you’re confused by the regulations, you are not alone.
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Pat Neal is a Hoh River fishing and rafting guide and “wilderness gossip columnist” whose column appears here every Wednesday.
He can be reached at 360-683-9867 or by email via patnealproductions@gmail.com.
