FX.co ★ Blue crabs devastating fishing industry in Italy

Italy is fighting an invasion of a blue crab, a voracious predator that devours almost everything on its way. Italy is one of the largest producers of shellfish in the world but the blue crab has put its mussel and clam production at risk. Being a strong and aggressive eater, the creature has threatened the biodiversity of Italian lagoons. Fish farms are sounding the alarm, urging the local government to come to the rescue. The Italian government has already allocated €2.9 million to fight the invasion but the situation is not getting better. The problem is that the population of blue crabs is growing exponentially as they seem to have found their ideal habitat. Experts cannot give the exact reason for this phenomenon but suggest that this may be the result of climate change. The allocated funds will be given to fishing cooperatives and aqua farmers trying to curb blue crab numbers with a large-scale fishing campaign. Currently, the country catches around 12 tonnes of blue crab every day but with little impact on the crab population. At such a pace, Italy could become the largest supplier of blue crabs. Notably, this species invaded the coast of the United Kingdom in 2021.