CLAS: Colby Liberal Arts Symposium

Invasion of Maine's Coastal Ecosystems: Green Crab Management Initiative

Diamond 145

The invasion of the European green crab, Carcinus maenas, into the Gulf of Maine has become an economically and ecologically damaging phenomenon and is expected to become more devastating if preventative steps are not taken in the immediate future. Our proposed plan involves two major phases: short term relief and long term mitigation. This first phase involves raising community concern through awareness and education, as well as enumerating various methods of collecting green crab as bycatch. With stipends provided for the clam harvesters efforts, and mobilizing volunteer efforts to remove green crab populations from their burrows, a green crab harvest initiative could potentially lead to the development of a sustainable market. While these short term solutions present effective ways to actively remove the species from Maines marine ecosystems, our plan emphasizes that any industry based in green crab harvest would act solely for human consumption, avoiding an economic dependency that may result from the development of a more wide-spread industrial market. The second half of our management program, the long-term initiative, proposes research into developing methodology to disrupt the reproductive cycle of the green crab, and reduce the species population size and potential as an invasive species. Together, the short term and long term management efforts outlined in this proposal would effectively reduce green crab populations and restore Maine marine ecosystem health.

https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2015/program/76