For Immediate Release
The Green Crab Working Summit Returns During Green Crab Week
A national awareness week celebrating invasive green crab as a seafood features an industry-geared summit in Portland, Maine
Chefs, harvesters, and environmental researchers will gather in Portland, Maine on June 24 for The Green Crab Summit, a day-long event dedicated to growing commercial markets for one of the world’s most destructive invasive species. The gathering is part of Green Crab Week, an annual event spotlighting culinary uses for green crabs, a voracious invasive species that threatens valuable fisheries and vulnerable ecosystems in New England and across the globe. In June of 2025, 70 restaurants and fish markets from Maine to Arizona served invasive green crabs as part of Green Crab Week, reaching 10,000+ diners. Hosted by GreenCrab.org, Green Crab Week celebrates green crabs as a versatile seafood while also spreading awareness of their invasive impact.
The Green Crab Working Summit brings together many players who are working to grow new markets and develop commercial uses for green crabs. The summit focuses on:
Fostering collaboration and innovation among seafood suppliers, harvesters, chefs, and researchers across the Northeast
Identifying knowledge gaps and challenges associated with harvesting, distributing, cooking, processing, and marketing green crabs
Strengthening green crab supply chains
Showcasing green crab markets, products, and culinary efforts
Organized in collaboration with Eating with the Ecosystem, Manomet Conservation Sciences, and New Hampshire Sea Grant, the Green Crab Working Summit will take place at O’Maine Studios in Portland. The full-day event features panels, culinary demonstrations led by award-winning chefs, and a Market Showcase x Drinking with the Ecosystem, where attendees can sample green crab bites and libations.
Those interested in attending the summit can register here. A full schedule and list of speakers and participants follows.
Other Green Crab Week events include:
Chef Workshop at the Maine Food and Beverage Education Center: On June 25th from 10 AM to noon, join GreenCrab.org and Eating with the Ecosystem for a green crab cooking class at the Maine Food and Beverage Education Center’s Wiscasset kitchen. Acclaimed chefs, including James Beard Award Winner David Standridge, will break down how to process green crabs in a restaurant kitchen while highlighting the crustacean’s culinary potential. Registration is now open on the Green Crab Week page. Tickets are $40 per person but GreenCrab.org is offering 15 free tickets to restaurant workers.
Green Crab Derby at Wolfe’s Neck Center for the Environment: From 2:30 to 4:30 PM on June 25th, join GreenCrab.org for the second Wolfe’s Neck Green Crab Derby! This family-friendly event is free, but registration is limited. Registration is now open on the Green Crab Week page. To note, this event will occur on a rocky shoreline with slippery rocks and seaweed.
History of the Green Crab Working Summit
In 2018, Manomet Conservation Sciences and New Hampshire Sea Grant hosted the first-ever Green Crab Working Summit at O’Maine Studios. Chefs, harvesters, seafood suppliers, and scientists from across the US and Canada gathered to share knowledge on invasive green crabs, discuss potential markets, and explore opportunities for collaboration. The agenda featured panels, break-out sessions, soft-shell sorting tutorials, and culinary demonstrations from top New England chefs. This working summit kick-started green crab market development, increased public awareness of the invasive species, and fostered collaboration between previously disconnected communities.
Green crab markets have come a long way in 8 years. Several green crab products have entered the marketplace and over 100 restaurants and fish markets have featured them on their menus. Three New England states have passed legislation centered on increasing consumer access to green crabs. Publications from Business Insider to the New York Times Magazine have highlighted emerging markets for the crab alongside the stark realities of its invasive impact and expanding range.
About Green Crab Week
In June of 2025, 70 restaurants and fish markets from Maine to Arizona served invasive green crabs as part of Green Crab Week, reaching 10,000+ diners. Hosted by GreenCrab.org, Green Crab Week celebrates green crabs as a versatile seafood while also spreading awareness of their invasive impact. A full list of 2026 participants follows.
About Green Crab Summit Organizers
GreenCrab.org: Founded in 2020, GreenCrab.org is a nonprofit with a two-clawed mission: building culinary markets for green crab and spreading awareness of its invasive impact. In a “Problem to Plate” approach, GreenCrab.org partners with restaurants, harvesters, product producers, and seafood purveyors to get green crabs out of the water and onto plates.
Eating with the Ecosystem: Eating with the Ecosystem is a Rhode Island-based nonprofit advancing a place-based approach to seafood in New England. The organization partners with fishermen, seafood businesses, chefs, researchers, and communities to connect people with local seafood and the ecosystems and fisheries it comes from. Through this work, Eating with the Ecosystem supports the development of markets for underutilized and invasive species, including green crab, by engaging chefs, industry partners, and the public to build awareness, access, and demand.
NH Sea Grant: In 2015, local fishermen approached New Hampshire Sea Grant for solutions to the growing and costly problem of invasive green crabs, prompting the launch of a multifaceted initiative to address the issue. Combining research, public education, and industry engagement, this effort aimed to create new economic opportunities while supporting ecosystem restoration and was formally established in 2018 as the NH Green Crab Project.
Manomet Conservation Sciences: Manomet Conservation Sciences started researching green crab fishery development in 2016, in partnership with local and Venetian fishermen to transfer knowledge about the Venetian soft-shell fishery to Maine. This resulted in years of research and identification of soft-shell crab processing techniques, gear adaptation, education, and long-term population monitoring.
Quotes from Participating Chefs:
“I’m very excited to be presenting at the green crab summit. This year we are celebrating cooking with 10,000 pounds of green crabs since 2022. I’m looking forward to sharing my techniques for incorporating green crabs into restaurant menus as we strive to make these crabs into a culinary staple of New England cuisine," - David Standridge of The Shipwright’s Daughter and Mystic Fish Camp.
“Green crabs are a new way to address our interest in the interconnectedness of restaurants, science, and communities in the fight to manage climate and human-related impacts on biodiversity and our oceans. I can’t wait to learn from the local talent the summit has called in to action.” - Chef Alex Raij of Saint Julivert, Txikito and La Vara
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The Green Crab Working Summit: Agenda & Participants
June 24, 2026 | O’Maine Studios, Portland, Maine
Opening Remarks
Harvester Address: Jason Jarvis: Quonnie Fish Co. & North American Marine Alliance
Green Crab Impacts:
Devon Newell: Sipayik Environmental Department
Dr. Marissa McMahan: Manomet Conservation Sciences
Green Crab Economics: Dr. Gabriela Bradt: New Hampshire Sea Grant
Panels
Markets & Products
Liam Fisher: Maine Garum Company
Marpheen Chann: Khmer Maine
Deb Suchman: Polkadog
Jordan Rubin: Mr. Tuna, Crispy Gai, & Ladyfish
Michael Masi: Shell + Claw
Tom Prohl: Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment
Sharon St. Ours: St. Ours & Company
Green Crabs on the Menu
Alisha Lumea: Wulf's Fish
Jones Mays: Invasiv Foods
David Standridge: The Shipwright’s Daughter & Mystic Fish Camp
Kathleen Standridge: The Shipwright’s Daughter & Mystic Fish Cam
Evan Montelesse: Tideminded
Dr. Gülsün Akdemir Evrendilek: The University of Maine
Opportunities & Challenges
Jason Jarvis: Quonnie Fish Co. & North American Marine Alliance
Alicia Gaero: Nauti Sisters Sea Farm
Liam Crommie: Point Judith Green Crabs
Ally Arguello: GreenCrab.org
Devon Newell: Sipayik Environmental Department
Imani Black: Minorities in Aquaculture
Closing Reflections
Demonstrating Chefs
David Standridge (Mystic, CT): The Shipwright’s Daughter & Mystic Fish Camp
Alex Raij (NYC): Txikito, La Vara, Saint Julivert Fisherie
Youji Iwakura (Boston, MA): Washoku Renaissance
Market Showcase x Drinking with the Ecosystem
Hosted by Eating with the Ecosystem and GreenCrab.org
Tabling Vendors, Chefs, and Organizations:
St. Ours x Youji Iwakura
Maine Garum Company
Polkadog
Tamworth Distilling
Wulf's Fish
Browne Trading Company
The Shipwright's Daughter
Maine Food and Beverage Education Center
Maine Sea Grant
Eating with the Ecosystem
Research Spotlight:
Quahog Bay Conservancy
NH Sea Grant
Manomet Conservation Science
Center for Coastal Studies
College of the Atlantic
Workforce Development:
Local Catch Network
Minorities in Aquacultur
Harvester Table
Quonnie Fish Co.
Point Judith Green Crabs
Shell + Claw
Media Contact:
Mary Parks
Executive Director
Greencrab.org
Dr. Gabriela Bradt
Fisheries and Aquaculture Extension Specialist
NH Sea Grant/UNH Cooperative Extension
Dr. Marissa McMahan
Senior Director of Fisheries
Manomet Conservation Sciences
Kate Masury
Executive Director
Eating with the Ecosystem