While residents report spotting an invasive crab in Sooke, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) says theyB次元官网网址檙e aware, but do not have enough data to know if we have an invasion in our waters.

European Green Crabs, identifiable by five spines to the outside of each eye, are one of the 10 most unwanted species in the world according the DFO website.

Patty Menning, a member of the Aquatic Invasive Species program with DFO, says the crabs will compete with natives species for food and will dig for inter-tidal vegetation making them a nuisance on the shoreline.

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B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 definitely something we donB次元官网网址檛 want in our waters,B次元官网网址� said Menning.

The European Green Crab has been found on the West Coast of Vancouver Island and some Mainland areas on the Central Coast of B.C. since 2007, but was only found in Sooke six years ago.

Menning is one of 13 people working nationally on early detection programs for the European Green Crab. One of the most recent new spotting of the invasive crab was in WittyB次元官网网址檚 Lagoon in the Metchosin area, found by a Grade 9 student who was fishing with a friend.

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B次元官网网址淟uckily he photographed it and sent it to [us], then we conducted a further assessment of where he saw them and found two more Green Crabs,B次元官网网址� said Menning. B次元官网网址淲e did a full eradication effort last fall and found one more adult.B次元官网网址�

Menning and the Invasive Species program will go back this spring to make sure no other crabs have made a home of the lagoon.

Jeremy Wilkes, a local fishing enthusiast, said heB次元官网网址檚 seen these crabs many times before in the Sooke area.

B次元官网网址淓very time weB次元官网网址檝e gone out for the past few months they get caught,B次元官网网址� said Wilkes. B次元官网网址淚n a morning [we catch] between one and four, some days more, some days less.B次元官网网址�

Signs along the Sooke boardwalk and the Fisheries website helped Wilke identify the critters that he B次元官网网址渟tomps them and kicks them back down to the ocean to feed the rest of the crabsB次元官网网址� when he finds them.

According to Menning the best thing to do if you do stumble across these crabs is to photograph it, note the time and location of the crab and email that information to the DFO.

B次元官网网址淲e collect the crabs, we take DNA and RNA samples to try and figure out where the population came from,B次元官网网址� said Menning. B次元官网网址淭hen we dispose of them so they cannot impact any other watercourse.B次元官网网址�

Ladine Hoffarth was out crabbing with some friends three weeks ago and says it wasnB次元官网网址檛 long before they noticed the strange looking crab.

B次元官网网址淚 just thought it was neat and tiny, and I had never seen anything that looked like it,B次元官网网址� said Hoffarth. B次元官网网址淣obody else had either.B次元官网网址�

Hoffarth took a photo of the crab before throwing it back. Black Press sent HoffarthB次元官网网址檚 photo to Manning who confirmed it was a European Green Crab.

Menning says the name can be misleading as the crabs arenB次元官网网址檛 always green, their actual colour can vary from dark mottled green to orange or red.

B次元官网网址淲e have a lot of crabs on our Pacific Coast that are actually green,B次元官网网址� said Menning, adding mis-identification of the crabs happens often. B次元官网网址淭hey have five points on either side of their eye which is a distinctive characteristic.B次元官网网址�

For more information on the European Green Crab visit or email your photos to AISPacific@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.