Blue crab, Rimini-Venice alliance to sell it and bring it to the table
It is called Callinectes sapidus, and a huge blue crab, native to the Atlantic Ocean, but capable of colonizing also the Mediterranean marine ecosystem, including our own. It prefers brackish waters, those near the mouths of rivers or near lakes. And like that of many other alien species the devastating impact on the environment: with its 25 centimeters in length in the carapace it has no natural predators contrary to the “crabs” that we are used to seeing under the sand on the shore.
Dangerous predator
Basically, despite having been sighted for the first time even in the 90s and only recently that this crab with unusual colors has proliferated, also thanks to climate change. And a crab capable of breaking fishermen’s nets and devouring the eggs of other commonly caught fish. Often it ends up in nets or traps and fishermen throw it back into the sea. However there is another characteristic for which this crustacean stands out: a delicious crabgood to eat and appreciated on many international tables. In Italy, however, it has no market. Here a start-up in Rimini, Mariscadoras srl, has decided to face the invasion of these crabs with the predation and resale of the processed product on the markets, for now foreign.
Come and solve the problem
Right now – explains Alice Pari from the Rimini-based company Mariscadoras – we are trying to convince fishermen to fish for this crab. We take care of find a suitable market for marketing. Basically “with an eco-sustainable method we have opted to limit the proliferation of this crab by preying on it when there are no predators in nature. In addition “Pushing fishermen to fish it also means reducing pressure on other over-exploited fish species”. But where does this species proliferate in Italy: In large part – Alice Pari always explains – in brackish waters, for example, there are many of them at the mouth of the Po, on the Delta. But also in Puglia near Lake Lesina or in Basilicata in the areas close to Policoro.
The collaboration with Venice
In Veneto, the Rimini start-up has partnered with a company in Venice, Tagliapietra, for the processing of this crab. This roost – explains Pari – to be marketed this crab must undergo a complex processing of pulp extraction. But which are the most receptive markets? We are having success abroad, while in Italy the main stakeholders are Chinese restaurants
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August 12, 2022 (change August 12, 2022 | 14:31)
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