This sampling and analysis plan (SAP) describes the objectives and the sampling and analysis methods of King County’s Elliott Bay and Puget Sound crab tissue monitoring. King County’s Marine Tissue Monitoring Program includes the collection and analysis of crab tissues every four years. The first monitoring event was conducted in 2014. This SAP is intended to serve the 2018 collection effort as well as future monitoring events.

Crab muscle and hepatopancreas composite samples will be used to monitor contaminant concentrations in Dungeness and Red rock crab caught near public fishing piers or public access points. Both crab species are consumed by recreational and tribal fishers, and thus, these data can be used by public health agencies to update any consumption advisories, as necessary, as well as provide a general comparison of contaminants in crab collected from the Lower Duwamish Waterway and East Waterway Superfund sites. In addition, these data can be used to estimate of both ecological and human health risks and to assist in documenting the benefits and effectiveness of water and sediment quality investments over time.