Sea: the ravages of the blue crab in the Mediterranean

The blue crab is as beautiful as it is fearsome. Imported from North America, it colonizes Mediterranean lagoons at high speed. This represents a scourge for fishermen, like Jean-Louis Guaitellawhose threads are perforated by the species. For the past two years, the blue crab has been disrupting fishing on the pond of Biguglia (Upper Corsica). “The net is a passive way of fishing. We wedge it in the evening to remove it the next morning. This net, we can no longer wedge it”reports the fisherman.

Corsica is not the only one affected by the phenomenon. To Canet Saint Nazaire (Eastern Pyrenees)fishermen have solved themselves for years at bring up nets without fish, because the crabs prey on the eels. 14 tonnes of blue crabs were caught in Canet this year, professionals are thinking about reorienting their activity in order to market the crustacean.