Status: 18.08.2023, 19:06 p.m.
By: Richard Strobl
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The blue crab is causing major problems in Italy. (Archive image) © Collage: dpa/Bernhard Lang // Ingo Wagner/Imago
The blue crab is causing major problems on Italy's Adriatic coast. After even the government launched an appeal, the plague is now to become a source of income.
Rimini – The blue crab is no longer entirely new in European waters. And already in 2021 there was talk of an "invasion of the Mediterranean". Nevertheless, the voracious animal has become a real plague for Italy, especially in the now more heated seawater. Now they want to turn the scourge of the fishermen into a treat for the palate – and even export it on a large scale.
The blue crab, also known as the blue swimming crab, is originally from the western Atlantic Ocean and can be found on the Atlantic coast of North and South America. In the course of the 20th century, however, the animal was introduced to Europe and lives mainly in estuaries of rivers and in shallow coastal waters.
Blue crab in Italy: "Killer of the seas" overruns Italy's coast
The problem is that the blue crab also bears the telling nickname "killer of the seas". It eats mussels, fish roe and other aquatic creatures. In the heated Mediterranean water of the Adriatic coast – especially because of the sandy soils around Rimini, for example – the crab has now found a new home. And in this country, of course, there is a lack of predators, as Ansa reports. The plague is particularly bad this year because the animals have multiplied en masse in comparison. An exact cause is still being investigated.
The blue crab is causing major problems in Italy. (Archive image) © Ingo Wagner/Imago
Especially for mussel farms and fishermen, the animals are now a major threat, as the blue crabs also attack fish and cut fishing nets. "The activity of small fishermen in Italy is in danger," warns the president of the agricultural association Coldiretti, according to heute.at. For humans themselves, the animals do not actually pose a danger. However, it is better to avoid the blue crab in masses, because then it can behave aggressively, according to the report.
Blue crab becomes a problem in Italy: government distributes emergency aid
The extent of the problem in Italy can also be seen from the fact that the government has released 2.9 million euros in emergency aid for mussel producers shaken by the shrimp plague.
By the way, the scientific name of the blue crab is Callinectes sapidus and this is exactly where the hoped-for solution to the problem lies. Because the name is made up of the parts kallos for "beautiful", nektes for "swimmer" and sapidus for "tasty".
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Blue crab gluttonous – and "tasty": Italy is looking for a culinary solution
Italy now wants to take advantage of the latter.
The first restaurants in Venice and Trieste have already added the blue crab to their menus. Italian politicians recognized the opportunity for a solution and openly appealed for other restaurateurs to follow. This turns the "scourge into a resource", as Ansa reports. Because the blue crab from Italy is now even exported. In Emilia-Romagna, a company from Rimini has begun to export the animals to the USA, more precisely to Miami. The first container with 15 tons of half-finished crustaceans is already on its way to American plates.
The head of the company is the company Mariscadoras, which investigates the possible gastronomic benefits of invasive species. Now the blue crab in Mestre is to be transformed into pulp and sauces.
In addition, the University of Bologna is also studying the shell of the blue crab, which is particularly rich in calcium and magnesium. Here, too, an attempt is made to identify a processing potential – and thus make a virtue out of necessity.