Blue crab invasion is killing off our living, say fishermen
THE blue crab may be pretty but it has become a source of daily anguish for Albanian fishermen struggling to make ends meet, as the invasive species upsets the region’s ecosystems.
Native to the Atlantic, the crustacean started emerging in Albania’s Adriatic waters over a decade ago, aided by warming sea temperatures.
In the marshy coastal area near the Karavasta Lagoon, the crab clogs nets and weirs, panicking fishermen who say the native marine species are increasingly hard to find.
The crab “takes our daily bread and even the fish in the nets... there is nothing to sell”, says Besmir Hoxha, 44.
“They are very aggressive and clever, a real curse,” says his colleague Stilian Kisha, 40. “This year we are seeing the crab everywhere, on the coast, offshore but also in inland waters, rivers and lagoons. The damage is enormous”.
Some days the men collect up to 650lb of blue crab – compared with only 13lb of the fish they sell on the market. Stocks of local sea bass, red mullets and eel are disappearing. Although the crab is a delicacy for some, it is not widely eaten in Albania.
Fishermen are right to be worried about a species whose females each lay millions of eggs, Sajmir Beqiraj, a professor of hydrobiology at the University of Tirana, told AFP.
Adrian Kola, a 27-year-old fisherman, said: “We must act quickly to find solutions, otherwise tomorrow it will be as difficult to control this invasion as it is to control the coronavirus.”