Investigating Policy Solutions to Support Culinary Green Crab Market Development in Maine

Abstract:

Invasive species are a growing global problem under climate change that have severe impacts on local ecosystems and economies. The invasive European green crab, Carcinus maenas, has had a presence in the United States since the 1800s, and in Maine since the early 1900s. Due to the warming of the Gulf of Maine and green crabs’ ability to rapidly reproduce and spread, their populations have exploded in recent years. Green crabs relentlessly prey on soft shell clams, destroy important ecosystem features like eelgrass beds, and outcompete native crab species. As a result, Maine’s lucrative clamming industry has suffered and clam landings continue to fall each year. Since a species as prolific as the green crab is essentially impossible to eradicate, it is necessary to adapt to them as a part of our new climate reality. The clearest way to do this is by making use of green crabs as a culinary resource, which both serves to balance out their population and to diversify Maine’s fishery resources. The state can support this goal through a combination of regulation changes and support for the market as it develops. Maine can also look at approaches to the green crab invasion in other places and how other invasive species have been utilized in culinary markets to guide us in this endeavor. As the climate continues to change, it is vital that we learn to adapt and tailor public policy to benefit people and the environment as much as possible.

Keywords: Shellfish, aquatic invasive species, soft shell clam, lobster, fishery management, green crab

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