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Seafood Environmental News
Dungeness Crab In the Ecosystem—Habitat Triumphs & Concerns.
Fishermen are not the only factor affecting Dungeness Crab fisheries. Probably the single greatest impact on
Dungeness Crab populations in the past 100 years has been urbanization and other human developments in the
coastal zones. In their juvenile stage, Dungies are dependent on coastal estuaries and near shore waters. The
more we develop and fill in coastal wetlands, the less we can ask of the fierce Dungeness Crab. As the vast
majority of Keep It Wild’s crab products come from the waters of Washington State, we focus here on this habitat.
In the Puget Sound, about 70% of near-shore habitat and marine wetlands have been lost over the past 125 years
(WA Dept. Ecology News Release 2/2010). Fortunately, there are a wide variety of efforts to conserve coastal
wetland habitat and restore coastal estuaries. Ducks Unlimited is one non-profit organization that has supported
the conservation and restoration of wetland/estuarine habitat used by Dungeness Crabs, through its Western
Washington Wetlands Initiative.
In 2010, the Washington State Department of Ecology secured 5 federal grants worth $4 million dollars, to partner
with other organizations and agencies in restoring 1,100 acres of coastal wetlands in Washington State. For details,
see www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/wetlands/stewardship/nwcgp.html. And in September 2010, Washington was
awarded $27.5 million in federal funding for salmon recovery efforts in coastal zones. Many of the habitat restoration
projects funded will also have benefits for Dungeness Crabs.
It is important for businesses, civic groups, and environmental organizations, to watch over and participate in
these programs to restore habitat vital to the health and biodiversity of marine life. Keep It Wild, through its affiliate,
Clam Fresh, has participated in one such project on Totten Inlet, with the South Puget Sound Salmon Enhancement
Group, spsseg.org, a habitat restoration group which works to re-open blocked estuaries and re-plant riparian
corridors.
One reason ocean-going Dungeness Crabs have not had the same contaminant issues as Blue Crabs from the
Eastern Seaboard, is that the Western Washington coastline from the Oregon border up to Neah Bay is far less
developed than either East Coast or the Puget Sound coastal zones. Dungies spend only their juvenile life stage
in the coastal zones; after this, they may range miles off-shore, but will return to near-shore waters to mate and lay
eggs. However, even in the relatively less-developed coastal zones, marine habitat that is critical for sustainable
fisheries must still compete with resort and vacation home developments, and other commercial developments.
Residential septic systems, logging and lumber mill operations with dioxin discharges, and other industrial
enterprises, may impact the ground water, estuarine, and near-shore water quality that is essential for
Dungeness Crabs.
These concerns are far from a reason to not consume Dungeness Crab. The more valuable the crabs are
commercially, the more tools, dollars, and public awareness can be raised so that critical coastal habitats can
be protected and restored, to keep Dungeness Crab populations strong and healthy into the future. Keep It Wild
contributes to habitat restoration projects both financially and through volunteer efforts. The stronger we become,
the more we can help these efforts locally, where we get our fish, and in in other wild places on our planet as well.