As a young boy spending his summers in southern Maine, Jeremy Sewall remembers green crabs being as common as seagulls and sand. Years later, when he took his own kids fishing in the York River, they would spend the day pulling up mesh bags full of the silver-dollar-sized, army green crustaceans.
It wasn’t until later that Sewall learned green crabs are one of the most invasive species in the marine environment. There have been efforts to cull the crabs by using them as bait or fertilizer.
Sewall, now owner and chef of Row 34, is among a growing contingent of restaurateurs testing a new tactic to deal with this invasive species: Eating them.
He's turned the pesky crustaceans into a green crab soft shell slider served with spicy tartar sauce. Row 34 now serves this creation at its Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Seaport locations for $10.
“We’ve always had soft shell seasonally. We always have a crab cake. Different times of year, when they’re available, crab claws. But the green crab thing is new," Sewall said.
Green crabs have been in North American waters since the 1800s, when it’s believed they hitched a ride on merchant ships bound from Europe, according to NOAA. Despite their longevity in the region, the species still has few predators and can decimate populations of young shellfish or small, soft-bodied creatures.
Sam Sewall, Jeremy’s nephew and a lobsterman in York, Maine, started catching green crabs last summer.
“He was telling me about it and he’s like, ‘Do you want to try these?’” Sewall said. “And I said, ‘Absolutely, I’ll try anything.’”
They tested the crabs on Row 34’s Portsmouth menu last year, Sewall said, and decided to bring them to Boston this spring. Row 34 also has a location in Burlington and is opening a space in Cambridge.
Sewall’s nephew uses crab traps, which are similar to lobster traps and baited with fish. He then places them in a mesh crate in the water and harvests the crabs when they begin to molt in the spring, Sewall said. At that point, the shell is soft and the entire crab can be eaten.
The new menu item fits in with Row 34’s ethos as a New England seafood restaurant. Sewall said their menu includes the classic beer and oysters, clam chowder, lobster rolls, ceviche and burgers. But as a chef, Sewall said, he’s always looking to experiment.
“You always want to be the first guy with the new ingredient, the new thing,” he said.
Sewall also comes from a family of lobstermen and said he is always looking for ways to support this community.
“If buying these crabs gives them an opportunity to see if this going to work or launch this, I want to support that,” Sewall said.
