Italian scientists bet on octopus to fight crab invasion
The Octo-Blu project has released about 80,000 hatchlings since June as researchers test whether octopuses can cut blue crab damage.
- Italian scientists from Bologna University are releasing thousands of octopus hatchlings into the Adriatic to combat invasive blue crabs that have devastated local fisheries. The team breeds the invertebrates in Cesenatico before transporting them to artificial underwater dens.
- North American blue crabs arrived in the Mediterranean decades ago, likely via ship ballast water, and their numbers have ballooned recently due to warming waters. The invasive species has caused an estimated €17 million in damages in Emilia-Romagna since 2022.
- Funded by Emilia-Romagna, the 'Octo-Blu' project seeks to increase octopus numbers as a counterweight to the crabs. Researcher Antonio Casalini said, "We chose the octopus because, in the wild, it is a formidable predator of crustaceans."
- Since June, the team has released 80,000 hatchlings and aims to double that amount by the end of August, placing the tiny invertebrates into cement-and-clay artificial dens designed to help them thrive.
- The project faces limitations, as octopuses struggle in the warm, sandy lagoons where crabs cause the most damage. Scientists are exploring alternative predators like seabass and eels to complement the octopus-focused efforts on the Adriatic coast.
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The blue crab continues to put pressure on ecosystems and fishing activities along the Italian coasts. And while the invasive species expands, scientists seek a possible response in nature: thousands of small octopus could in fact become one of the most effective allies to counter its spread. The idea comes from the characteristics of [...] The article Polpi against the blue crab: the challenge of Italian scientists to stop the invasion. Here th…
Octopus to the rescue? How Italian scientists are battling invasive blue crabs
From a fishing trawler in the Adriatic, Italian scientists gently release thousands of tiny octopuses in the hope of fighting an invasive North American crab species that has devastated local fisheries.
Octopuses Against Blue Crab - Italian Scientists Are Looking for a Natural Ally to Save the Adriatic
A team from the University of Bologna is counting on the octopus to help curb a growing population of the voracious crustacean, which has wreaked havoc on shellfish production.
Blue crab is one of the many invasive species that threaten Spanish waters, as it expands into large coastal areas, wetlands and other ecosystems where indigenous species are displaced. In Italy, they seem to have found a natural solution to this problem, which is devastating the country’s fisheries resources.
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