Blue crab invasion! Italian clams suffered a devastating blow. Italy | clams | blow
Italy is a major clam farming country in the world, and the delicacy "clam pasta" originating from the southern region of Italy is also a well-known dish. However, due to the invasion of the alien species blue crab, Italy's clam farming industry is currently facing severe challenges.
△ CCTV Finance's "First Time" Program Video
![Blue crab invasion! Italian clams suffered a devastating blow. Italy | clams | blow](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/2d48203fd0dddf6e6a8c7bc5eac753a9.jpg)
Blue crabs are native to the Americas and invade the Mediterranean region with ships. Due to the absence of natural predators, blue crabs reproduce in large numbers in various waters of Italy and become invasive species.
Due to the fact that blue crabs mainly feed on clams, mussels, etc., farmers in the Po River Delta of Italy have been severely affected. At present, nearly 90% of local clam seedlings have been eaten by blue crabs, and it is expected that clam production will significantly decrease.
![Blue crab invasion! Italian clams suffered a devastating blow. Italy | clams | blow](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/2913bd974443304e19656e514330a890.jpg)
Italian biologist Rossetti: Our clam farming industry has been destroyed, and clams have been heavily preyed upon by this type of crab. Almost all the clam seedlings we are planning to catch next year have been destroyed, and even the clams that are scheduled to be released this summer and December have suffered significant losses. We may lose our clam farming business, and farmers may go bankrupt, endangering 1500 jobs.
According to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2021, Italy is the largest clam producer in Europe and the third largest clam producer in the world. In order to deal with the rampant blue crabs, the Italian agricultural department has been encouraging fishermen to catch them. But due to the lack of habit among local people to eat blue crabs, only a small portion of the caught crabs are consumed. And local fishermen also stated that the cost of catching and processing these blue crabs is too high.
![Blue crab invasion! Italian clams suffered a devastating blow. Italy | clams | blow](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/7902e39c9c957aaa75ba3e779468b531.jpg)
Currently, there are plans to process blue crabs into animal feed, hoping to help the local authorities cope with the crisis.