The invasive blue crab has transformed Italy’s Adriatic coast, threatening traditional fisheries and livelihoods. As eradication proves impossible, fishermen and researchers are exploring new ways to manage the invasion, from natural predators like octopuses, to tapping into international markets and adapting local culinary styles.
\n\nBlue crabs are seen inside a crate in a processing plant in Scardovari, in Italy’s Po River Delta, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Nicolo Lupone)
\n\nFederico Zago, a second-generation fisherman, who pulls up crabs by the cageful from his traditional fishing cabin built on stilts over the Scardovari Lagoon in Italy’s Po River Delta, poses next to a trap containing blue crabs, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Colleen Barry)
\n\nResearch technician Antonio Casalini checks a female of octopus at a research lab in Cesenatico, Italy, Thursday, Aug 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
\n\nStefania Marchesini prepares crabs fished fresh from the local Scardovari Lagoon at her restaurant Yogi in Porto Tolle, in Italy’s Po River Delta, Aug. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Colleen Barry)
\n\nSCARDOVARI, Italy (AP) — Italian fishermen for two years incinerated most of the invasive Atlantic blue crabs caught in the Po River Delta south of Venice. Few Italians had an appetite for the alien predator blamed for…
Original source: https://apnews.com/business