Invasive green crabs are bad for the environment so New Englanders are starting to eat more of them

In York, Maine, Mike Masi and interns at his company, shell+claw, sort invasive European green crabs to sell them as premium seafood—an effort aimed at turning a destructive species into a marketable product. The crabs, Carcinus maenas, can fetch about $3 each when they’re ready to molt, versus as little as 8 cents for hard-shelled specimens. Masi said commercial cultivation is unique in the region. The problem is significant: green crabs outcompete Atlantic rock crab and juvenile lobster, damage eelgrass beds and salt marsh areas, and cost the shellfish industry tens of millions of dollars annually. Soft-shell clam landings in Maine fell from 7.8 million meat pounds in 1978 to 1.3 million in 2025. Warming waters from climate change help the crabs survive winters and expand broadly.