Three years ago, the blue crabs that swarmed over Italy became a hot topic in Korea as well.
The 'blue crab' is a species native to North America.
While they were a nuisance in Italy, devastating clam farms, reactions poured in from Korea such as, "We can't get enough of them because we don't have enough," and "We should just import them instead."
Three years have passed. What happened to them?
Beginning in 2023, blue crabs surged in the Po River Delta region, devouring clams indiscriminately and causing massive damage to local fishermen.
Even the Italian government stepped in to catch the blue crabs.
In the Polesine region alone, about 2.3 million kg of blue crabs were caught and incinerated over a two-year period.
However, due to their strong reproductive capacity—with a single female laying up to 8 million eggs in a single season—there were limits to reducing their population.
Recently, experiments are even underway to reduce the blue crab population by using their natural predator, the octopus.
And a bigger change has occurred.
Instead of catching and getting rid of them, they have started catching and selling them.
Blue crabs caught in Italy are boiled, frozen, and sent to Sri Lanka.
Locally, the meat is manually extracted and processed into crab meat and claw meat, which is then exported to countries around the world, including the United States and Europe.
Some of it even finds its way back to Italy.
[Paolo Mancin / President, Polesine Fishermen's Cooperative Consortium: Now in Italy, we must completely change our mindset and strategy to turn this disaster into an opportunity.]
Just as we wondered three years ago, are Italians now eagerly eating these crabs too?
Not yet.
[Stefania Marchesini / Local Restaurant Owner: Italians refuse to eat this crustacean precisely because it invaded our seas, and so we are all angry about it.]
There is also a big difference in price.
Blue crabs cost about 1.3 euros per kg, while the clams devoured by the blue crabs cost about 10 euros per kg.
Once a hot topic in Korea with people saying they couldn't get enough of them, and blue crabs that were caught and incinerated in Italy.
Three years later, Italy has shifted its response from eating this nuisance directly to catching, processing, and selling it to the global market.
Reported by Sim Yeong-gu | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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