Invasive Crabs Have Taken Over New England. One Solution? Eat Them! - The New York Times (Free Article)
Invasive Crabs Have Taken Over New England. One Solution? Eat Them! - The New York Times (Free Article)
America’s Northeastern coast has been overrun by crabs from Europe and Asia. Luckily, they’re delicious.
Luckily, they are delicious and almost free.
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European green crabs have started expanding into Puget Sound here in Washington in recent years. Part of the problem is that some people--such as myself--would happily catch and eat them, but as an invasive species, they're illegal to catch/possess. I imagine our huge Asian population would also happily eat them. The fish and wildlife department really ought to carve out an exception so that we can all help slow their spread. They have the potential to destroy our native dungeness crab population (the green crabs eat the baby dungeness crabs), which is a huge commercial and recreational fishery.
Wait.....you PROTECT the invasive species? Here in Cleveland we have an insect that everybody stomps in the summer.
The only invasive species we like in Cleveland is Tim Misney. We KNOW what he does!
I'm doing my part
In stomping those insects, or by eating crabs?
HEY EVERYBODY! THIS GUYS GOT CRABS!
So, do you boil em, or deep fry?
HEY EVERYBODY! THE CRABS ARE DEEP FRIED, NOT BOILED.
What? I'm helping out by getting people interested in your crabs. Everybody wants you to give them crabs now.
Stomping on them would be legal.
The idea is to prevent people from spreading invasive species, but in this case, the law is backfiring because it's not people spreading the invasive species. It's already here and spreading on its own.
What if you smashed them then took them home to cook and eat? 🤔
Seafood is better fresh. You wouldn't be able to do that in large quantities and keep it from going bad quickly.
What if you headed out with a cooler full of ice, a cutting board, and a knife?
Also legal. You can't have the live crabs.
??? Is there something Asian about enjoying eating crab?
Y’all really just gonna let this racist shit go?
My guy. Crab is really common in east asian cuisine. The wording wasn't great but that happens.
Hey, it's not like crab isn't a delicacy to western civilization, at least ever since trains in the US started serving lobster. Ever since we stopped thinking of them as "gross water crawlies" and started seeing them as valid gourmet food, crustaceans have become a boon to coastal communities. If these ones don't belong here, the real issue is keeping them alive. Simply make sale of live crabs illegal and require all crabs to be cooked the same day the invasive crabs are caught (donate the extra to the homeless).