The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is seeking a volunteer to serve as a frontline monitor for the invasive European green crab, as state officials remain wary of the destructive species reaching Wrangell waters.

“Unfortunately, with no one being in place to look for the green crabs, we can’t know whether or not they’re in Wrangell,” said Tammy Davis, the Juneau-based invasive species coordinator for the Department of Fish and Game.

“We just can’t know if the green crabs have arrived yet without having someone to monitor for it.”

The search for a volunteer follows a recent scare at the Blashke Islands, located roughly 30 miles south of Wrangell in Clarence Strait. Brian Herman, owner of Canoe Lagoon Oysters, feared his farm had been infiltrated by the invaders after finding suspicious crabs in his gear.

“We knew the green crabs had been spotted at Ketchikan, and we just figured it would only be a matter of time before they come here,” Herman said. “We just weren’t sure what we were finding in our bags.”

Though the crabs at the farm were identified as native Hairy Helmet crabs, Davis noted the threat is closing in.

“I’m glad that Brian reached out to me and told me about it, and I’m happy it wasn’t a green crab,” Davis said. “But I would expect to see (green crabs) show up before too long.”

The crabs, a particularly invasive species known for aggressively displacing native shellfish species and salmon fry and damaging important vegetation, were discovered last October at a bay north of Cooney Cove on Etolin Island, across Clarence Strait from Blashke Islands.

The crabs were first found in Southeast Alaska in Metlakatla in the summer of 2022. Since then, they’ve been found increasingly farther north.

Evidence of the species was found last June at Refuge Cove State Recreation Site, north of downtown Ketchikan, where two carcasses were discovered during a University of Alaska Southeast-Ketchikan survey.

Davis explained that warming water temperatures expected by the end of June could lead to a proliferation of the species.

“I know in 2022, we had an El Nino event and that warmed the waters. That’s when we saw the population explode,” she said.

The volunteer position in Wrangell involves a minimal time commitment, requiring a volunteer monitor to set out five or six traps at low tide at least once a month.

“It wouldn’t be a big time commitment, but it would really help,” Davis said. “A permit to do this is required, but I will help obtain that permit.”

In addition to permitting assistance, the state will provide guides and identification information. If a green crab is suspected, residents are encouraged to use the department's online reporter or the Invasive Species Hotline 1-877-468-2748, or email dfg.dsf.InvasiveSpecies@alaska.gov.

“We also ask that a photo is submitted to help us identify what is being reported. It is helpful to include in the photo a common item like a ballpoint pen, cell phone, or something like the back of a driver’s license or credit card ... to give us an idea of the scale of the organism,” Davis said.