Blue crab in the ponds of Arborea and Terralba: «It destroys the nets and attacks fishermen»

It is an alien species that comes from America and knows how to adapt to high temperatures. It devours fish and clams, with its claws it destroys fishing equipment in seconds and is not afraid of man.

The blue king crab has been an unwelcome guest on the coasts of Terralbese for some years and given the current hot season, its ability to reproduce is cause for concern.

"Certain female specimens manage to lay up to two million eggs and mating takes place twice a year: numbers that are uncontrollable for us", reports Alberto Porcu, president of the Sant'Andrea fishermen's cooperative which manages the S'Ena Arrubia compendium . A body of water where the blue king crab made its first appearance six years ago and which has now found its ideal habitat. "In 192 hectares of water, three quarters of the lagoon are compromised by the blue king crab, which manages to cut the bertovelli for eel fishing", continues Porcu. This species of crustacean has also put a strain on the clam harvest in S'Ena Arrubia, so much so that fishermen have now made the blue king crab a flagship product to make up for the lack of turnover due to the shortage of shellfish.

With the blue king crab, the Cooperative has carved out a slice of the public with the production and sale of crab meat and crab sauce, in addition to the catch. «This year, however, competitive prices are cutting our legs. If in Northern Italy crabs are sold off for one euro per kilo, our Cooperative sells females for 15 and males for 10 euros. The unsold crab is divided among the members, so as not to have to throw it away», Porcu says. Who attacks: "The sale of the product is not the right solution". Solutions not yet found by the same experts of the Cnr of Palermo who deal with the proliferation of the alien species in S'Ena Arrubia: "The project, which concerns 20 specimens, is still under study", Porcu says.

The blue king crab is also starting to populate Marceddì. «It is still difficult to quantify its presence, the crab is distributed over a compendium of 1700 hectares. Every day we manage to catch a quintal of them. We are afraid of it because it destroys the nets in a short time and attacks humans, it can injure hands and feet. We fear the invasion», says Antonio Loi, president of the Marceddì fishing cooperative consortium. Important numbers also recorded in the other Sardinian compendiums, brought to the attention of the Region last Thursday in Cabras, during the meeting between fishing operators.