Italians Find Culinary Solution to Plague of Invasive Blue Crabs

This Chesapeake staple has become a big problem in the Mediterranean.

Blue crabs are known as a delicacy in the Mid-Atlantic and southern United States, from the Chesapeake to the Gulf Coasts. But in Italy, where this invasive species has migrated to Mediterranean waters with no natural predators, locals are only just learning of creative—and as it just so happens, delicious—solutions to combat the scourge. 

Experts believe that the crabs, or callinectes sapidus, were introduced to the ecosystem by inadvertently being transported in the ballast water from cargo ships, and rising sea temperatures are exacerbating the spread. Whereas the crabs used to struggle when the water dropped below 10 degrees Celsius, they now have an ideal environment to survive year round.

And now that they've arrived, there's no exterminating them. Female blue crabs can produce a half million to two million eggs per year, and the crustaceans are a hearty and aggressive species with ravenous appetites.

Blue crabs have already taken a toll on Italy's clam and mussel industry, damaging an estimated 50 percent of this year's shellfish production. They also prey on seabream and eels, both of which are staples in the local economy and diets of residents to the coastal town of Orbetello. Eels have been found ripped apart by the crabs' strong claws, and they have likewise torn apart fishing nets.

"From an environmental point of view, blue crabs are a real problem because they attack the juvenile fish, the eels, and they interrupt the food cycle of the fish because they eat clams, mussels, and oysters,” Pierluigi Piro, president of the La Peschereccio cooperative, told the Associated Press. "Unfortunately, they are growing exponentially because they seem to have found their ideal habitat in the Orbetello lagoon."

The Italian government has allocated 2.9 million euros in resources to combat the blue crab invasion. But officials are hoping to get the word out that the insect-like creatures are a culinary opportunity, with chefs beginning to use them in traditional Italian dishes such as linguine and seafood stews. Blue crabs have also been selling for up to 10 euros per kilogram in some parts of the country.

“Blue crabs are a huge resource," Italy's Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, recently explained to The Telegraph. "The blue crab contains a high level of vitamin B12, which is very beneficial for humans. That could be used as a way to promote it. Given that the species has no predators in our waters, it is up to us to intervene."

In other words, pass the Old Bay.