MUKILTEO, Wash. — Several people have contacted the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) this past week to report a large number of dead crabs washed up on the beach at Mukilteo.
However, the WDFW says this sight of dozens of crabs isn’t as sinister as it appears.
What’s washed up on the beach are molted shells of Dungeness crabs that have outgrown their old ones.
“Unlike us, crabs and shrimps must shed their old shells in order to grow to the next size. In this amazing process, a crab’s shell splits and it literally backs out (legs and all) with it’s soft new shell that was hidden underneath. The old shell is empty of meat and only has some brown gill linings inside. During the next few weeks, this crab is vulnerable and the new shell swells to a larger size and begins to harden,” explained Don Velasquez of the WDFW in an email to KING 5.
Currents and wind likely brought all the shells to shore.
Similar events have happened at this Mukilteo beach before, Velasquez said.
In 2015, there were several shells that had washed up on Whidbey/Camano waters before crab season began.
As it turned out, that was a sign of good things to come and it was a record year for total harvest of Dungeness crab by the end of that season, Velasquez said.
When systematically counted, there may be a few dead crabs mixed in but the vast majority are molted shells, Velasquez said.
Molting is a stressful growth event and a few crabs do not survive it, according to Velasquez.
