“The blue crab has caused damages of 100 million euros to Italian fishermen to date, devastating clam and mussel farms but also wiping out oysters, clams, other crustaceans and fish such as sole and grey mullet, for a bill that risks doubling if measures are not taken to stop the invasion of the ‘killer of the seas’”.
This is the budget drawn up by Coldiretti Pesca in the Village of Venice, with Veneto being the region most affected by the emergency. For the occasion, an exhibition of the species most at risk due to the invasion of the alien species native to the Atlantic coasts of America was set up, while the fishermen and farmer chefs of Campagna Amica prepared a series of recipes to enhance the the fearsome predator, with capture for consumption which is today the most valid solution to address the problem. “The Po Delta is the area where the presence of the blue crab is causing the greatest damage. Starting from spring 2023 and to date, both on the Veneto and Emilian sides, the production of clams has been practically eliminated, with the predator capable of literally crushing the shells after having pulled them out of the sand of the seabed.
Mussel farms have also been devastated, starting with the prized Scardovari Dop. A situation that threatens the survival of over 2,000 families in the area, with a large part of the employees of the cooperatives and consortia finding themselves on redundancy pay and with difficulties for the employees of individual businesses who cannot benefit from it.
A deadly threat to a sectorthat of aquaculture, which is one of the flagships of fishing Made in Italy with a production value of about half a billion euros, where the heaviest item is represented by mussels, with clams in third place. But the production of oysters is also growing and is becoming an excellence Made in Italy”.
“Coldiretti’s data leaves no doubt: the blue crab is causing enormous damage to fishing, 100 million euros which could double if massive action is not taken. Yet, to my parliamentary question presented almost a year ago, Minister Lollobrigida has not yet responded. What is the government waiting for?”. This was stated in a note by Italia Viva senator Daniela Sbrollini, vice president of the Senate’s social affairs and health commission. “Three months ago, then, I visited fishermen and restaurateurs from Polesine – Sbrollini recalls – and I was able to personally verify the disastrous situation that the blue crab is causing: the molluscs, mussels and clams, are disappearing. The Rovigo area itself, as confirmed by the Coldiretti study, is one of the most affected areas, there are territories and families in great suffering there. But now this aggressive animal is becoming a threat to all our seas, from Veneto to Puglia, up to Sicily. From the authorities we expect funding greater than that already allocated and more timely interventions. The expected blue crab commissioner is also late in arriving. There is no more time to waste”
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