State denies Ketchikan tribe's request to open green crab fishery

State denies Ketchikan tribe's request to open green crab fishery

Invasive green crabs are seen in a bucket of sea water. (Photo courtesy of Albert Smith). The Ketchikan Indian Community submitted an emergency petition to the state’s Board of Fisheries in March, asking to reclassify European green crabs from a Class A to a Class B banned invasive species. This change would allow anybody to transport dead European green crabs for harvest or consumption. Currently, the invasive can only be possessed or transport…