State scientists take first green crab surveys
Scientists with the state’s Department of Marine Resources are taking their first census of green crabs, a creature fishermen and scientists say threatens eelgrass habitats and soft-shell clams, a fishery that brought in over $15 million last year.
The Bangor Daily News reported the coastal survey from late August is intended to provide better data about population trends for the species, which hasn’t been surveyed by the state in 20 years. As a result of that timeline, DMR Public Health Bureau Director Kohl Kanwit told the paper the numbers will be hard to put into context, as the methods used in the latest survey may not be the same as those used 20 years ago.
Anecdotally, soft-shell clam harvesters and scientists say the green crab populations have surged in recent years. The department will present the full results of its latest survey during a Dec. 16 conference at the University of Maine in Orono.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments