Scientists release 130,000 young octopuses into Italy’s Adriatic Sea to help control invasive blue crabs.
Scientists have released around 130,000 young octopuses into the Adriatic Sea as part of an effort to control the growing population of invasive blue crabs, which have damaged shellfish stocks, fishing equipment and coastal fisheries, according to Scientific American. The project began in 2024, initially focusing on laboratory work to determine how the young octopuses could be raised successfully in tanks.
Antonio Casalini, an aquaculture research technician at the University of Bologna, said the project is not introducing an unfamiliar predator into the ecosystem. “We are not introducing a new species but working on strengthening the population of a native species already naturally present in the Adriatic,” Casalini said. Italy is turning to an unusual predator in its battle against an invasive species that has wreaked havoc on the country’s fisheries: the common octopus. Blue crabs are considered a valuable seafood species in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. In the Mediterranean, however, their growing population has become a major ecological and economic problem.
Will the ‘octopus army’ work?
The experiment represents an unusual attempt to use a native predator to restore some balance to an ecosystem disrupted by an invasive species. Whether Italy’s eight-armed solution can make a measurable difference, however, remains to be seen.