Winter & Spring 2025 ~ Newsletter

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Larval Crab Monitoring | Population Genetics | Adult Crab Assessment | In the Media | News & Events

As we transition into spring, we’re excited to share highlights from the PCRG Annual Meeting, held on January 28 in Kingston, WA. With 103 attendees joining in person and virtually, it was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect, exchange updates, and discuss the year ahead.

We also wrapped up our Preseason Light Trap Workshop on March 17, where the Larval Crab Monitoring Working Group came together to repair their traps and prepare for another successful sampling season. Read on for more details about these events and other updates!

PCRG members at the Annual Meeting in Kingston on January 28, 2025.

Group Updates

Coordinating Committee Election Results

Elected members of the 2025 PCRG Coordinating Committee are listed below. A huge thank you to Gianna Pantaleo (Suquamish Tribe), who served on the Committee for the past two years, and Amy Pumputis (Oregon State University/WDFW), who served as the Committee’s student representative in 2024. We extend a warm welcome to the Committee’s newest members, Neil Harrington and Claire Cook!

Julie Barber, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (Tribal Rep. #1)
Courtney Hart, Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe (Tribal Rep. #2)
Neil Harrington, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe (Tribal Rep. #3)
Daniel Sund, WDFW (State Rep.)
Sean McDonald, University of Washington (Federal/Academic/NGO/Industry Rep. #1)
Brian Allison, Puget Sound Crabbers Association (Federal/Academic/NGO/Industry Rep. #2)
Rich Childers, Individual (Open Rep.)
Claire Cook, University of Washington (Student Rep.)

Larval Crab Monitoring

Annual Meeting

At our annual meeting, the Larval Crab Technical Team prepared updates and key findings from the 2024 monitoring season, highlighting trends observed across Washington’s light trap network. Across 22 sites managed by 20 different partners, one major highlight from last season was the impressive 5,000+ hours of sampling effort logged, thanks to the hard work of 163 data contributors (including 90 dedicated volunteers). A huge thank you to everyone who contributed their time and expertise to this effort!

Heather Earle (Hakai Institute) contributed additional 2024 observations from our sister network in British Columbia, which included 28 sites managed by 32 different partners. Consistent with previous years of monitoring, Dungeness crab megalopae first arrived on the outer coast in March in both WA and BC, with abundance peaking at those sites in May. Inland sites followed, with peak catches observed in June or July. A familiar trend continued, with higher abundance observed in the central Salish Sea region (near the Strait of Juan de Fuca), and decreasing abundance observed as you move to the north and south.

Map of light trap sites active in 2024. Sites in red are coordinated by Puget Sound Restoration Fund. Sites in blue are coordinated by Hakai Institute.

Matthew George & Charlotte Berry-Powell (WDFW) shared insights from their sites in Westport and Tokeland, introducing several light trap design improvements to better withstand coastal conditions. Heather Earle also shared modifications implemented at BC sites to reduce mortality during heatwaves. These adjustments included adding extra vents to the traps, reducing fishing hours, and installing timed aerators to boost oxygen levels – measures that proved successful at reducing mortality.

Heather Gordon, an MSc Candidate at the University of British Columbia, gave an overview of her research investigating the physical transport mechanisms that carry Dungeness crab megalopae from the coastal ocean into the Salish Sea through the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Her analysis is currently underway using data from select sites in Washington, and we can’t wait to see what patterns her research uncovers!

Finally, we heard an update from Carl Ostberg (USGS), who collected light trap samples from six sites in WA in 2024 to detect European green crab (EGC) larvae through genetic analysis. EGC larvae were detected at three sites – Tokeland, Westport, and Sequim Bay – all locations where adult EGC populations are known to be present.

Preseason Workshop

Washington’s Larval Crab Monitoring Working Group convened on March 17, 2025 for our annual Preseason Workshop, with 22 attendees in-person and online. Beyond repairing traps and lighting units, the group discussed a number of considerations for the upcoming season, including:

Increasing water quality data collection by incorporating year-round temperature monitoring and opportunistic salinity monitoring
Starting light trap sampling earlier in April (as capacity allows) to fully capture early-season pulses, particularly at sites in northern Puget Sound
Testing methods to extract larval crab measurements from photos using ImageJ, a technique successfully used by sites in BC

PCRG members at the 2025 Light Trap Preseason Workshop.

Population Genetics

In a long-awaited update, Jay Dimond (WWU) shared preliminary results from PCRG’s population genetics study. This was a huge collaborative effort, with larval crab samples collected from 12 sites across the light trap network, and adult crab samples by fishermen and fisheries co-managers across all Puget Sound management regions. Once analysis is complete, this work will lead to a published study, and we look forward to sharing those results in the near future!

Assessing Adult Crab

Kathryn Meyer (WDFW) provided updates on the development of vital sign indicators and a Dungeness crab index using long-term data from bottom trawl surveys in Puget Sound. A workshop on indicator development was held in October 2024, and the team is currently working to fit models to Dungeness crab data.

Julie Barber and Maddie Hicks (Swinomish Indian Tribal Community) gave an overview of the formation of the PCRG Adult Crab Assessment Working Group, explaining the need for fishery-independent data in the Salish Sea, specifically. While recent research suggests that the open coast fishery is sustainable, the Salish Sea fishery operates under fixed preseason quotas and presents a far more complex environment – both oceanographically and ecologically. These complexities, along with evidence of population declines in regions like South Sound and southern Hood Canal, underscore the need for improved assessment methods. This new working group has focused on refining its goal: generating estimates of Dungeness crab abundance in management areas, capturing biological data on females and sublegal crab in addition to legal-sized males.

To achieve this goal, the group is testing the use of commercial-style pots with closed escape rings at randomly set locations within different depth and habitat types – Swinomish and Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe are currently spearheading these field feasibility trials.

Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe testing adult crab survey methods.

Student Showcase

At the annual meeting, we had the pleasure of welcoming several students who presented posters highlighting their crab-related research. Their work sparked engaging discussions and provided a great opportunity for students to receive feedback and answer questions from PCRG members. Thank you to all the students who participated!