Southern Maine clams threatened by invasive species, warming climate By Will Graff The Forecaster FREEPORT, ME — Small, green crabs are wreaking havoc along the Harraseeket River, and could soon devour the soft-shell clam population into extinction. As water temperatures continue to rise and the winters get warmer, experts and clammers say the crabs, which eat spat – clams in larval stage – combined with coastal acidification, could drive 1,800 licensed clammers out of work and drastically alter the ecosystem. Chad Coffin, president of the Maine Clammers Association, said the crabs have essentially taken over two-thirds of the productive clam flats in the last two decades, eating the mussels and scallops along the way. The devastation of clams has accelerated in the last decade and the problem is only getting worse, he said. Green crabs, originally from Japan, were first recorded on Long Island, N.Y., in the mid-1860s and weren't seen in Casco Bay until the early 1900s, Beal said. ...
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