July 1, 1998
By Ryan Teague Beckwith - Daily World Writer, Aberdeen Daily World
WILLAPA BAY - In the wake of finding four more European green crabs, the state Department of Fish & Wildlife has put a temporary ban on some kinds of shellfish shipping from Willapa Bay.
Oysters and clams headed for stores and restaurants won't be affected and state officials expect the ban will not last beyond the next few weeks.
But shellfish growers that normally send their product in bulk up to opening houses on Puget Sound and other regions will be restricted.
Most of the growers that could be reached this morning said they would not be affected by the ban.
Bruce Kauffman, a state Fish & Wildlife biologist, said the agency wants to check on processing facilities to make sure that the green crab, a voracious predator, cannot escape into Puget Sound.
He said the ban should not pose a major threat to the industry since spawning season, which affects the flavor of oysters, has just begun.
"They're not as good as they are in the wintertime, so this is not a heavy shipping period," he said. "It's not as bad as it would be if it was November or December."
The crustacean pest has been making its way across the country since hitchhiking on sailing boats across the Atlantic sometime in the 1930s and 1940s.
Some worry that the crab, which feeds on shellfish and other crabs, may seriously affect Willapa Harbor's ecosystem - as well as its economy if it turns out to have a taste for locally grown oysters.
Research scientists found the discarded molt of a green crab in early June at Leadbetter Point. Kauffman said they were surprised because the crab, which was found in Coos Bay, Ore., last year, was not expected this far north so soon.
State workers stepped up their inspections following the first discovery, and crews working on spartina grass infestations north of Oysterville found a live male crab last Friday.
That crab is about 21Ú2 inches long, indicating it is at least a year old.
On Monday, Fish & Wildlife workers found three more juvenile crabs - two males and one female - in minnow traps that they had laid south of Leadbetter Point.
"We weren't expecting that the green crab would be found in Willapa Bay this fast," he said. "It indicates that the problem may already be here."
For now, Kauffman said the agency will be stepping up efforts to check on the predator to see if it has spread beyond the Leadbetter Point area down farther into Willapa Bay.
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