SEQUIM, Wash. — U.S. Senator Patty Murray and U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer joined leaders from the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe along with environmental advocates and experts Wednesday to get an update on the progress of efforts to trap European green crabs.
Senator Murray pledged to work to secure federal funding; so far, she says only staff time has been dedicated at the federal level.
The Lummi nation declared the invasive species an emergency in 2021, and in 2022 Governor Jay Inslee also raised the alarm, citing the way these crabs damage habitats and disrupt life cycles for shellfish, salmon and orcas. Funding was allocated at the state level, helping partners remove thousands from Washington waters.
"We've definitely been successful in many areas to repress the populations," said Allen Pleus, Washington Fish and Wildlife Aquatic Invasive Species Unit Manager and European Green Crab Incident Commander. "With the Lummi nation leadership, it looks like they maybe have hit a good part of suppression in the sea pond, we'll see how that works this year. On the outer coast, those crabs are very prolific and that's an area we're going to have to put some special emphasis on this year."
Senator Murray says as Senate Appropriations Chair, she hopes to coordinate funding and cooperation through Fish and Wildlife Services, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Senator Murray and Representative Kilmer previously worked language into Congress' December spending package to mandate FWS produce a report for Congress breaking down efforts so far to handle the threat.
WDFW recently released an updated report on management efforts and several letters requesting federal funding.