New England Seeks to Turn Invasive Green Crabs into a Marketable Seafood

Former marine-science teacher Mike Masi runs shell+claw, the only commercial operation that cultivates invasive European green crabs ( *Carcinus maenas* ). By hand-sorting thousands of crabs to find individuals about to molt, his crew can fetch about $3 per crab at market, compared with as little as $8 cents for a hard-shelled specimen. Masi estimates the business brings up to $20,000 annually and hopes to expand with a larger boat and more efficient processing. On June 11, 2026, interns placed mesh baskets of small green crabs into submerged grow cages on the York River, illustrating the hands-on approach that still feels “like a hobby” to Masi.

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Green crabs arrived on the East Coast via ballast water centuries ago and now number in the tens of millions. They outcompete Atlantic rock crab and juvenile lobster, destroy eelgrass beds, and undermine salt-marsh banks. The state reports that soft-shell clam landings have fallen from 7.8 million meat pounds in 1978 to 1.3 million pounds in 2025, a decline linked to crab predation. Their voracious feeding is estimated to cost the regional shellfish industry tens of millions of dollars each year.

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State and regional actions vary. Rhode Island offers a $10 green-crab fishing license; Connecticut permits restaurant sales without extra permits; Massachusetts adds a 40-cent-per-pound incentive (up to $100,000 annually) for fishermen. In Washington state, an emergency declared in 2022 has funded more than $38 million through 2027 to eradicate the species, with nearly 2 million crabs captured this year and converted into 135,000 pounds of organic fertilizer. Tribal groups such as the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe and Lummi Nation also harvest crabs for compost.

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Masi emphasizes turning “a despised crab” into a premium product, noting the higher price for soft-shell individuals. Evolutionary biologist Carolyn Tepolt describes the crabs as “really pretty resilient little guys,” underscoring their capacity to thrive in warming waters. Raquel Crosier warns that unchecked populations could threaten treaty-protected fisheries and critical habitats, echoing concerns from coastal stakeholders.

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• “Just about everyone hates them and we’re trying to turn them into a premium seafood product,” — Mike Masi

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• “They’re really pretty resilient little guys,” — Carolyn Tepolt, an evolutionary biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

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• “We’ve got treaty-protected fisheries at risk and critical habitats that are used by all sorts of native species, so we’re really worried that we’ll start to see those types of effects that they saw on the East Coast if we let the population get established,” — Raquel Crosier, the deputy director of the state’s Fish Program

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• “These crabs are way more potent in terms of flavor,” — PAGU’s

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• “I am cautiously optimistic about the potential for green crabs,” — Mike Masi

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