This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Monday 21 December 2020
Scuttling In Sideways?
King crab are suddenly big business in Bugoynes in the North of Norway (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/20/crab-22-how-norways-fisheries-got-rich-but-on-an-invasive-species). It seems that the crabs were actually introduced off the neighboring Russian Murman coast in an attempt to establish a local fishery for the species. The King crab, however, favoured the deep fjords, to the South, in Norway and have sidled into the area. The Norwegian fishermen have become rich on the sales of these substantial and popular, but alien, crustaceans. The problem is that fully-grown King crab have few competitors and can decimate other species that normally live on the seabed. The crabs are also moving their range towards the Lofoten Islands, where major codfisheries are located. The crab larvae also can move considerable distances and would be next to impossible to control. This is the kind of thing that happens with alien introductions (whether deliberate or unintentional). A situation is created where the economic interests of fishermen in Bugoynes, directly conflicts with the need to maintain traditional biodiversity in nearby locations.
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