Gloucester soft shell clam populations have been declining for well over a decade, and it is not largely due to pollution or overharvesting. It has to do with predation. Green crabs are an invasive species that have severely impacted clams and their environment by voraciously eating young clams and larvae. In 2025, I worked with the Gloucester Shellfish Dept on a project that passively collected clam larvae. With 65 boxes, we collected over 30,000 clams. This proves clams are reproducing but not surviving. Dr Brian Beal, a top clam researcher, states that removing only adult green crabs won’t by itself fix the problem. The smaller crabs are the greater threat, vacuuming larvae up at a tremendous rate. To date, there are no efforts to reduce smaller crabs.
My project is to test several modified traps to see if I can collect these smaller crabs. There will be different modifications used to see what works best, and how many crabs I could possibly catch. The modifications involve creating readily-accessible small complex environments that the crabs will treat as a “crab hotel” using methods such as baffled small mesh, pine branches, and a 3d printed “hotel”. Any bycatch will be removed and the green crabs destroyed. I have two test sites in mind - Jim Durney and Jones River near Ram Island. Traps will be checked regularly and data will be recorded and shared with the public.