Italians cope with invasion of blue crabs

[Steve]

https://apnews.com/article/italy-fish-crab-climate-pasta-605e9aa4918f5760d8e45150a7029ff3

[jack1747]

"At the restaurant, 10 euros ($11) buys four grilled crabs or linguine tossed with crabs, tomato, onion, basil and chili pepper sauce."  Maybe I'll go over and start a "old Bay" / "JO" franchise. 

[Hawkeye]

I love how they show the one old school guy using a trap made of string/rope.  I used to use wire mesh minnow traps and would catch eels in them all the time - but only the tiniest of blue crabs.  That was like almost 30 years ago.  Surely a modern italian fisherman would know how to catch eels with funnel traps that would prevent a crab from entering. 

[Steve]

I actually received an email from Michele (a clammer from Goro, Italy) back in July about this very issue. Here is his email:

Good morning,
I'm Michele, I'm a fisherman and i live in Italy in the Po 's Delta.
I'm from Goro and I'm a clam's fisherman.
Here in Goro we fish about the 40% of the clams in Europe, but now we are risking to loose our work due the blue crab invasion.
Every day about 22000 lb of crabs are catched and destroyed.
In Italy the blue crab hasn't market and only a small part of them as sell.
Every day when i watch all that crabs ready to be burn i don't feel good.
So i start to search for some Info about this crab and for someone that can help me to undestand if could be possible to export and sell part of that crabs in the USA.
If you google -Goro Ferrara granchio blu- you'll can undestand what I'm trying to explain you.
Please scuse me for my english.
Hope you can help me.
Thanks a lot,


MICHELE
c a r c a n a - d e l t a d e l p o

www.carcana-deltadelpo.it

So, if any of you wants to start a crabbing operation in Italy, here's your chance!

[on the hook]

https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=41&q=Goro+Ferrara+granchio+blu&cvid=69fbf4ed66404bbcb5ac8c5dac8a6258&aqs=edge..69i57j69i64.20871j0j1&FORM=ANAB01&PC=HCTS



Very interesting...Wish I understood Italian...

[Steve]

Another article:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/22/invasive-blue-crabs-threaten-economy-of-whole-regions-of-italy-official-say

[Hawkeye]

https://www.bing.com/search?pglt=41&q=Goro+Ferrara+granchio+blu&cvid=69fbf4ed66404bbcb5ac8c5dac8a6258&aqs=edge..69i57j69i64.20871j0j1&FORM=ANAB01&PC=HCTS



Very interesting...Wish I understood Italian...

I grabbed a few articles - the headlines just reaffirm what steve posted:

Fishing: it is alarm for the invasion of blue crabs. 3,000 businesses at risk in the Po delta
Blue crab, Goro is invaded: clam farmers in crisis - this one is a video https://www.rainews.it/video/2023/08/granchio-blu-goro-invasa-allevatori-di-vongole-in-crisi-db6ac663-a088-437c-968b-1c3a1a5b8b73.html

They are using commercial pots but laundry baskets to cull the crabs.... then big plastic tubs to hold them.  I read that they can catch this many crabs anytime they want but they have no buyers.  

In the video the majority of the crabs caught were nice jimmies, but a very small batch of female spongers too ...that were kept of course.

[Mutzy crab man]

Think we should move the Wye party to Italy.....

[Logical1]

Think we should move the Wye party to Italy.....

No, just have them send the crabs to us. lol

[Wallco99]

No, just have them send the crabs to us. lol

And Maryland is worried about keeping a few females and limiting crabbers to one bushel. This is why everything is a farce and an illusion nowadays.

[Steve]

[the crabs] have devoured up to 90% of young clams in the Po delta, causing severe damage to future production.

You can bet that there are no cull limits over there with the crabs devouring 90% of their clam population! Plus the fact that the crabs have no commercial value in Italy.

[rdbeard]

and thats why i use clams for bait here

[Wallco99]

Has Italy reported any mysterious CHICKEN disappearances as well?

[Hawkeye]

As an aside - I do recall a while back people were saying the European green grab was in US waters and going to cause a problem for the blue crab industry.  My guess is that the green crabs were just added to the menu of the blues...

[jack1747]

Wait to they realize they can sell the crabs for 100 dollars a dozen. 

[Wallco99]

Wait to they realize they can sell the crabs for 100 dollars a dozen.  

And when they further realize that they can throw them in their spaghetti sauce.   

[Big Liar]

We don't need them shipped here, as we have enough outside pressure against our commercial industry.   Instead this is a huge opportunity for someone to open a crab house over there, and show them how to effectively harvest crabs.  I can see it now, a whole fleet of "Jenny1, Jenny2, Jenny 3" crabbing boats.  With the right marketing, you could sell to all of Europe.

[Mr. Ray III]

We don't need them shipped here, as we have enough outside pressure against our commercial industry.   Instead this is a huge opportunity for someone to open a crab house over there, and show them how to effectively harvest crabs.  I can see it now, a whole fleet of "Jenny1, Jenny2, Jenny 3" crabbing boats.  With the right marketing, you could sell to all of Europe.

With 0 regulations.

[Crabslayer]

We don't need them shipped here, as we have enough outside pressure against our commercial industry.   Instead this is a huge opportunity for someone to open a crab house over there, and show them how to effectively harvest crabs.  I can see it now, a whole fleet of "Jenny1, Jenny2, Jenny 3" crabbing boats.  With the right marketing, you could sell to all of Europe.

Joe Crabs moved to Florida.  He should have moved to Italy.  He was always making crabs with gravy and pasta.