Italians release 1000's of octopuses to fight US blue crab invasion

quote:

---

A team from the University of Bologna is betting that the common octopus can help contain the burgeoning population of blue crabs—a voracious crustacean that has ravaged shellfish production in the Adriatic.

"We chose the octopus because, in the wild, it is a formidable predator of crustaceans," Antonio Casalini, one of the researchers, told AFP.

Native to the North American Atlantic coast, blue crabs arrived in the Mediterranean decades ago, likely transported via ships' ballast water.

But their numbers have ballooned in recent years, with the government and fishing groups linking the boom to warming waters and climate change.

With sharp, blue-tinted claws that are particularly adept at prying open shells, they have wreaked havoc in Italy's northeast—one of Europe's top clam-producing regions.

Authorities in Bologna's Emilia-Romagna region said last year that the species has caused almost 17 million euros ($20 million) in damages there since 2022.

---

quote:

---

"It eats everything, including young clams lying on the seabed," said Davide Sanulli, a fisherman and mussel farmer with thick eyebrows and grizzled hair, of the crab.

In lagoon-like areas off the Po River delta, "it has caused a massacre," added the 64-year-old, who is helping with the university project.

Excellent swimmers and weighing up to 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds), the crabs have few natural predators—something the researchers are hoping to change.

---