They’re tiny and they’re wreaking havoc on our coasts — but some people say they also taste pretty good.
European green crabs have posed a problem off the coast of Vancouver Island for decades now, and while current conservation efforts have focused on deep freezing them and throwing them in a landfill, some suggest eating them instead.
The species, which is found across the Pacific Northwest is aggressive and feeds voraciously on shellfish; they have no natural predators and they reproduce at a high rate. Each female can have up to 185,000 babies at a time.
“One of the prime concerns for us … is their impact on eelgrass, which is a critical habitat for juvenile salmon,” Crysta Stubbs, director of the Coastal Restoration Society’s science department, said on CBC’s On the Coast. “They’ll actually uproot the eelgrass while they’re feeding.
“And when they’re juveniles, when there’s a lack of other, more nutritious food for them, they’ll actually feed directly on the eelgrass as well.”
On The Coast7:01Invasive European green crabs threaten B.C. salmon
Crysta Stubbs, the Coastal Restoration Society’s science department director, explains how destructive European green crabs are in B.C. (including how they threaten salmon), and tells us about their efforts to combat their spread with the help of local First Nations.
While Fisheries and Oceans Canada says recreational and Indigenous harvesting of shore crabs for food — including European green crabs (EGC) — is permitted with a license, commercial fisheries cannot sell them for human consumption.
“It is important to remember that [green crabs] are highly invasive and pose a risk to native species and habitats,” the organization said in a statement.
“The capture, transport or use of EGC for any purpose (such as for food) poses a risk in terms of promoting their spread and potential colonization of new areas.”
Fisheries and Oceans Canada said it’s currently working on a national strategy for dealing with aquatic invasive species, other than disposing of them.
A high crab diet
These green crabs aren’t just a West Coast problem. Fisheries and Oceans Canada notes that the species, which originally came from Europe and North Africa and likely hitched a ride to North America on wooden ships in the early 19th century, first invaded east coast waters in the 1950s.
They’ve posed a consistent problem to local species ever since — and in some places, conservation experts have suggested that the crabs could make a good meal.
The New Hampshire Green Crab Project, in fact, has published a list of recipes for people wishing to help the environment — and their stomachs — by trapping and eating green crabs. Among the recipes are a green crab ceviche, fried rice, and pozole.
While the crabs are small, they feed voraciously on shellfish species. (Submitted by Coastal Restoration Society)
Gabriela Bradt, fisheries extension specialist at the University of New Hampshire’s Sea Grant program, said her department is looking for ways to make commercial green crab trapping a viable industry on the American east coast.
That might help reduce the environmental impacts of the crab population’s enormous growth and commercial fisheries could benefit, she said, adding the crustaceans are delicious.
“The way I really like green crabs is boiled the same way that you would do a blue crab or a regular other crab and just pick some of the meat. And then I do like to put some of that meat and the roe from the females into a ramen,” Bradt said.
“I have a really amazing chef friend … she came up with a salted green crab roe ice cream, which — I know it sounds really weird, but it was amazing. She had salted the crabs beforehand, it’s kind of like a fermenting process, and then she picked the roe and put it in a vanilla-based ice cream and it almost tasted like toasted coconut.”
Where opportunity strikes
In Venice, where the crabs are a local species, residents partake in a twice-yearly delicacy called moleche — soft-shelled green crabs. When the time is right in spring and fall, green crabs will molt their hard shells, but they must be cooked within hours, before the new shell touches water and hardens.
Part of Bradt’s work in New Hampshire has focused on whether a soft-shelled green crab product could be viable in the United States — especially given that in Venice, a pound of soft-shelled green crab can fetch fisheries about $73 to $88.
The Coastal Restoration Society harvests thousands of invasive green crabs a year, euthanizing them by deep freezing them. (Submitted by Coastal Restoration Society)
Bradt said it’s important to follow the same seafood safety protocols as fishers would for any other crustacean.
In Canada, conservation groups trap crabs by the thousands and deep freeze them to kill them — but after that, they’re sent to landfill or compost.
At the moment, the Coastal Restoration Society is stockpiling the dead crabs to try and find other uses for them, perhaps as fertilizer. The organization is working with the federal government and with local First Nations including the Ahousaht First Nation on how that could work going forward.
“What I would recommend is essentially an opportunistic removal program, if you will. Have people target green crabs,” Bradt said.
“And if we have the markets for anything from human consumption, to pet food, to fertilizer, to whatever — have those markets grow and provide income for fishermen.”
KITCHENER, Ont. – Prosecutors are arguing a man who stabbed a professor and two students in a University of Waterloo gender studies class last year should face a lengthy sentence because of the attack’s lasting impact on campus safety and security.
Federal prosecutor Althea Francis says a sentence in the upper range is appropriate not only because Geovanny Villalba-Aleman wanted to send a message about his views but also because he sought to make those with different beliefs feel unsafe.
The Crown has said it is seeking a sentence of 16 years for Villalba-Aleman, who pleaded guilty to four charges in the June 2023 campus attack.
The sentencing hearing for Villalba-Aleman began Monday and is expected to continue all week.
Federal prosecutors argued Tuesday that Villalba-Aleman’s statement to police, and a manifesto that was found on his phone, show his actions were motivated by ideology and meant to intimidate a segment of the population.
Villalba-Aleman pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of assault with a weapon and one count of assault causing bodily harm.
A video of his statement to police was shown in court earlier in the sentencing hearing.
In the video, Villalba-Aleman told police he felt colleges and universities were imposing ideology and restricting academic freedom, and he wanted the attack to serve as a “wake-up call.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
OTTAWA – The Bank of Canada cut its key policy interest rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday to bring it to 3.75 per cent. Here’s what people are saying about the decision:
“High inflation and interest rates have been a heavy burden for Canadians. With inflation now back to target and interest rates continuing to come down, families, businesses and communities should feel some relief.” — Tiff Macklem, Bank of Canada governor.
———
“Activity in Canada’s housing market has been sluggish in many regions due to higher borrowing costs, but today’s more aggressive cut to lending rates could cause the tide to turn quickly. For those with variable rate mortgages – who will benefit from the rate drop immediately – or those with fast-approaching loan renewals, today’s announcement is welcome news indeed.” — Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage.
———
“This won’t be the end of rate cuts. Even with the succession of policy cuts since June, rates are still way too high given the state of the economy. To bring rates into better balance, we have another 150 bps in cuts pencilled in through 2025. So while the pace of cuts going forward is now highly uncertain, the direction for rates is firmly downwards.” — James Orlando, director and senior economist at TD Bank.
———
“The size of the December rate cut will depend on upcoming job and inflation data, but a 25 basis point cut remains our baseline.” — Tu Nguyen, economist with assurance, tax and consultancy firm RSM Canada.
———
“Today’s outsized rate cut is mostly a response to the heavy-duty decline in headline inflation in the past few months. However, the underlying forecast and the Bank’s mild tone suggest that the future default moves will be 25 bp steps, unless growth and/or inflation surprise again to the downside.” — Douglas Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
