Italy Releases Octopuses to Combat Invasive Blue Crabs Devastating Fisheries

In a novel ecological intervention, Italian scientists are releasing thousands of juvenile octopuses into the Adriatic Sea in an effort to curb the destructive impact of an invasive blue crab species. The initiative, spearheaded by researchers from the University of Bologna, involves releasing baby octopuses from a fishing trawler.

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We chose the octopus because, in the wild, it is a formidable predator of crustaceans.

The common octopus, a natural predator of crustaceans, is being deployed to control the burgeoning population of blue crabs. Native to the North American Atlantic coast, blue crabs likely entered the Mediterranean decades ago via ship ballast water. Their numbers have surged in recent years, with warming waters and climate change cited as contributing factors by government and fishing groups.

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It eats everything including young clams lying on the seabed.

These voracious crustaceans, with their sharp, blue-tipped claws, have wreaked havoc on shellfish production in Italy's northeast, a prime clam-producing region. The Emilia-Romagna region reported nearly 17 million euros in damages since 2022, while the farming group Coldiretti estimates the national damage at around 200 million euros. Fishermen like Davide Sanulli describe the crabs as eating "everything including young clams lying on the seabed," causing a "massacre" in lagoon areas.

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In lagoon-like areas off the Po River delta 'it has caused a massacre'.

The 'Octo-Blu' project, launched last year and funded by the Emilia-Romagna region, aims to establish a significant octopus population near the shore to counter the blue crab invasion. Researchers breed octopus hatchlings in labs and release them near artificial dens placed on the seabed. While the project has released approximately 80,000 octopuses since June, with plans to double that number by the end of August, scientists acknowledge potential limitations. The common octopus may not thrive in the warm, sandy lagoon waters where the blue crab is most damaging, potentially limiting the project's effectiveness in those specific areas.

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The idea is to establish a small community close to shore so that it can better combat the spread of the blue crab.