January 24, 2024 — The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is working with a diverse group of partners to learn more about the population structure of Puget Sound’s Dungeness crab by studying the DNA of both larvae and adults.
“The main question our team is looking to answer is whether Dungeness crab in the region belong to a single large population or are there multiple genetically distinct populations?” said Liz Tobin, the tribe’s shellfish program manager.
Biologists have been working with tribal and non-tribal commercial crab fishermen to collect genetic material from crab larvae and adults from 11 management areas throughout Puget Sound this year.
After genetic analysis is completed by Jay Dimond, a research assistant professor at Western Washington University, tribal and state co-managers and members of the shellfish industry will evaluate the results to determine if the population’s genetics vary throughout the region and how that aligns with the current Dungeness crab management regions and boundaries.