August 4, 2026 — The Ketchikan Indian Community submitted an emergency petition to the state’s Board of Fisheries in March, asking to reclassify European green crabs from a Class A to a Class B banned invasive species.
This change would allow anybody to transport dead European green crabs for harvest or consumption. Currently, the invasive can only be possessed or transported for scientific or educational purposes by those with an Aquatic Resource Permit.
“This isn’t an issue that’s going anywhere, and it seems to be largely ignored throughout much of the state,” said Emily Halsell, a fisheries and wildlife biologist with the Ketchikan Indian Community.
Halsell is leading a green crab monitoring and removal program, which officially kicked off last fall. The tribe has removed about 1,500 green crabs from Ketchikan beaches so far this year.
In its petition to the state, the tribe cites the species’ damaging impacts to the local ecosystem and economy. The adaptive critter can burrow and destroy eelgrass beds, which are nurseries for native species like Dungeness crabs and juvenile salmon. They can also compete with native crab species for the same resources.