The Invasion of the Blue Crab: How an Invader is Putting Italy's Beloved Spaghetti alle Vongole Out of Business
Key Highlights :
In the shallow waters of the Scardovari lagoon in Italy, fishermen have been catching clams for the nation’s beloved spaghetti alle vongole, alongside mussels and oysters. But an unwelcome invader is putting them out of business. The blue crab, native to the North American Atlantic coast, has been present across the Mediterranean for years, but in recent months has become a serious problem on Italy’s northeastern coast.
Gianluca Travaglia, a 52-year-old farmer of mussels and clams, says the blue crabs are “eating everything” and turning the stretch of lagoon into a desert. “Every day we fish more of them… I don’t know what to do,” he told AFP as he guided his motorboat across the water.
The blue crab, or callinectes sapidus, has spread around the world likely transported via ballast water from ships. They have thrived in the Mediterranean Sea, which is warming due to climate change. Across the Italian seabed, the crabs are “exterminating clams, mussels, eggs, other fish and mollusks, putting at risk the survival of 3,000 businesses in the Po Delta,” according to the Italian business lobby Coldiretti.
In response, the Italian government allocated 2.9 million euros ($3.2 million) last week to address the problem. The money will provide economic incentives for those catching and disposing of the crabs, which lack natural predators in Italian waters.
The blue crabs are excellent swimmers and can weigh up to one kilogram (2.2 pounds). They eat almost anything, while their sharp, blue-tinted claws are adept at prying open clam shells.
Luca Faraon, a restaurateur in Eraclea outside Venice, is among a number of cooks exploring how to use this new, tasty resource. “With the blue crab, you can prepare many foods,” he said, as diners tucked into crab spaghetti the chef prepared using garlic, cherry tomatoes and parsley.
The blue crab is a prized catch in the Chesapeake Bay on the United States’ East Coast, where it is known as the Maryland blue crab. After a meeting with the industry last week, Italian minister Francesco Lollobrigida said the problem might be an opportunity, citing potential markets in the United States and China.
However, Emanuele Rossetti, a biologist with the Polesine fishing consortium, one of Europe’s largest shellfish farming associations, is pessimistic. Clams were the core business of members of his group, and the mollusks cannot exist alongside large numbers of blue crabs. Although the crabs have been in the lagoon for about 15 years, there has been an “exponential” increase in recent months, he said.
It remains to be seen whether the economic incentives will be enough to save the clams, mussels, and oysters of the Scardovari lagoon – and the beloved spaghetti alle vongole of Italy.
