Dungeness crab season opens on time for the first time in years on the Oregon coast.
But another crab is currently a source of concern at the coast, and that is the European green crab. It has only been present on the West Coast for a little more than 30 years, but it's making up for lost time, outcompeting Dungeness and other crabs for food and habitat.
One answer to the invasion: eat them.
Not only do scientists recommend catching and eating the green crabs, they are supplying recipes for preparing them.
There's even a Massachusetts based non-profit (greencrab.org) with a cookbook and a goal of eating as many of the little invaders as possible. Oregon has followed suit withits own guide to green crabs in meals.
We get the story in a visit with Sylvia Yamada from Oregon State University, Shon Schooler from the South Slough Reserve, and Sara Stansbury from the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology.