Now, this is a plan I can get behind! New England is proposing a bold way of dealing with its invasive green crabs problem. It involves a fork, knife, and a dinner plate.
That's right, New England officials propose eating the invasive species. Green crabs are on the menu, boys. The invasive species has been wrecking the local ecosystem. So the species must go, and the best way is down people's bellies.
"They're omnivores, so they eat everything, including a lot of our really important species and commercial species, like soft-shell clam," Adrienne Pappal, habitat and water quality program manager for the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, said via New York Post.
New England has had an issue with green crabs for decades. But in recent years, officials propose eating the pests. This comes after the crustaceans have found it easy to adapt to the area. So if nature isn't going to kill them, then locals can.
"They have a lot of ways to survive, and that's why they've been really successful," said Pappal. "They are so widespread in the environment and can have a lot of different impacts."
Green Crabs
Story Reed, deputy director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), said local officials have partnered with fishermen to help catch the green crabs. This will help curb the species' population.
"On the North Shore, there are five towns that have done eradication programs that have been mostly funded through the state to pay fishermen to go out and try to eradicate these things," Reed told Fox News Digital. "We've recently heard from towns in the Cape Cod area who are also interested in eradication programs because they're seeing impacts to their shellfish as well."
Meanwhile, a local fisherman gave his firsthand account of the issue. Fisherman Jamie Bassett explained, "We have an issue with green crab. A gravid female - gravid meaning egg-bearing - can, I believe, disperse up to 180,000 eggs into the water. The issue of green crab as an invasive species is not going to go away. One, because they reproduce so much. And two, because it's just not a sought-after species."
Unfortunately, the crustaceans don't have a lot of meat on their bones. It's making things difficult from a consumer perspective. However, one local restaurant is serving a soup made up of the crab that's gathered a lot of local interest.
"It was really neat to see it get that recognition at an international show and get to taste it," Reed said. "I think it's the creativity, the willingness to try new species, both from [the] consumer's perspective and from chefs in the culinary world. It's great that people are trying these different things."
