The invasive green crab is decimating New Hampshire's seafood industry
Ted Reinstein learns about the efforts to put the invasive green crab on local restaurant menus
Updated: 7:58 PM EDT Aug 10, 2020
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>> IS IT A PRETTY PLACE? >> IT IS BEAUTIFUL. REPORTER: CAPTAIN DON TAYLOR WOULD KNOW. FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS, HE HAS BEEN LEADING FISHING TRIPS OUT OF RYE HARBOR. >> IT’S NOT LIKE IT USED TO BE. NORMALLY, THERE WOULD BE AT LEAST THREE, SOMETIMES FOUR TRAWLERS HERE. ALONG PORTSMOUTH, THERE ARE MORE. REPORTER: BASICALLY TODAY, COMMERCIAL FISHING IS A FRACTION OF WHAT IT WAS. >> EVEN 10 YEARS AGO, THERE WOULD BE ONE OF THESE BOATS COMING IN HERE AND THERE WOULD BE TONS OF COD. REPORTER: FOR SPORT FISHERMEN LIKE TAYLOR, THE MACKEREL, POLLOCK, AND STRIPERS STILL RUN. NOT TO MENTION THE WHALES. >> I WAS DOING A FISHING CHARTER. THIS HAS HAPPENED ABOUT FIVE TIMES. THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF WHALES I HAD AROUND MY BOAT, CLOSER THAN THAT ONE HERE TO MY VOTE, WAS 14. 14 WHALES. REPORTER: IF YOU ARE GOING TO DROP A LINE RIGHT HERE, WOULD YOU CASH FISH? >> YOU COULD CATCH MACKEREL, SMALL POLLOCK, SMALL CAUGHT. -- COD. IT’S A HEALTHY SEASHORE. THAT’S WHAT’S NICE ABOUT IT. IF I CATCH FISH HERE, I HAVE NO PROBLEMS EATING THEM. REPORTER: YOU DON’T GET TIRED OF THIS? >> NO, I NEVER GET TIRED OF IT. REPORTER: BACK ON SHORE, WE HAD A BEACH DATE IN RYE. CHECKLIST, EMPTY BUCKET, LOW TIDE, EXPOSED ROCKS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE EXPERT COMPANY OF UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE MARINE BIOLOGIST GABBY BRETT. >> THIS MIGHT LOOK PROMISING. NOT SO MUCH. REPORTER: WE WERE ON THE HUNT FOR A MALICIOUS MOLLUSK THAT HAS BECOME A PROFESSIONAL PASSION FOR HER, THE GREEN CRAB. CONSIDERED INVASIVE SPECIES, THEY HAVE BEEN HERE FOR OVER 100 YEARS AND ARE MORE UNWELCOME THAN EVER. WHAT DON’T WE LIKE ABOUT GREEN CRABS? >> GREEN CRABS ARE HITTING US IN THE POCKETBOOK. IF YOU ARE A COMMERCIAL SHELL FISHERMEN OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THE POPULATIONS HAVE EXPLODED RECENTLY AND THEY HAVE DECIMATED A LOT OF SHELLFISH POPULATIONS. REPORTER: RISING OCEAN TEMPERATURES HAVE HELPED SPREAD THE ADAPTIVE CRABS TO MULTIPLE SHORELINE HABITATS, AND THEY ARE VERY HUNGRY. >> THEY EAT ANYTHING IN SIGHT. THEY ARE VORACIOUS. REPORTER: A MIDSIZED GREEN CRAB, ONLY TWO OR THREE INCHES ACROSS, CAN EAT ANYWHERE FROM 40 TO 50 MUSCLES PER DAY. AND THERE ARE MILLIONS OF CRABS OUT THERE. THE PROBLEM HAS GOTTEN WORSE? >> IT HAS GOTTEN MUCH WORSE. REPORTER: A POSSIBLE SOLUTION? SHE IS ONE OF A SMALL TEAM OF EXPERTS WITH A CRAZY IDEA. IF YOU CAN’T BEAT THEM, EAT THEM. >> THEY TASTE GOOD. IF WE GET FISHERMEN INVOLVED, IT MIGHT GIVE THEM A LITTLE EXTRA MONEY IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT MARKETS AND CHANGE THE AMERICAN PALATE A LITTLE BIT. REPORTER: IT IS NOT WITHOUT ITS CHALLENGES. FIRST, YOU HAVE TO COLLECT THE CRABS AND ONLY WHEN THEY ARE MOLTING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SOFTSHELL. AND FIND SOME ADVENTUROUS CHEFS. >> I HAD NEVER HEARD OF THEM. I HAD NEVER WORKED WITH THEM. IT IS EDUCATIONAL FOR ME. REPORTER: MATT LEWIS IS A CHEF AND OWNER OF MOXIE, A TAMPA STYLE RESTAURANT IN PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE. HE DOES -- HE RESPONDED TO THE IDEA WITH A SIMPLE, LET’S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO. >> A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERROR. A LOT OF EXPERIMENTING. WE HAVEN’T DONE IT IN A WAY THAT IS INTRUSIVE, BUT MORE LIKE, THIS IS A GREAT DISH. WHAT IS THIS AGAIN? REEM CRAB. THEN THE CONVERSATION CAN START. REPORTER: FISH CROW CUT, GREEN CRAB BISQUE. LET’S TRY IT. THAT IS GOOD. >> THIS IS POLLOCK AND A LITTLE BIT OF COD. MOSTLY POLLOCK. WHAT DO YOU THINK? REPORTER: REALLY GOOD. THEN THERE IS CHEF MATT’S GREEN CRABS TO. >>>> THIS COULD BE THE FUTURE OF THE GREEN CRAB INDUSTRY. THIS COULD BE IT RIGHT HERE. REPORTER: OR BETTER, EATING IT. MEANWHILE, GABBY KEEPS ON COLLECT INCOME ARE RESEARCHING, ALL AMIDST A BOULDER SIZED IRONY. SHE HAS A PHOBIA FOR CRABS. REPORTER: YOU DON’T LIKE CRABS? >> NO. REPORTER: ISN’T THAT INTERESTING. WHAT A GREAT WAY TO CONQUER IT. >> I HAVE CONQUERED IT. BUT I STILL HAVE GLOVES. THERE’S A LOT OF THEM. REPORT
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The invasive green crab is decimating New Hampshire's seafood industry
Ted Reinstein learns about the efforts to put the invasive green crab on local restaurant menus
Updated: 7:58 PM EDT Aug 10, 2020
Capt. Don Taylor has been running chartered fishing trips on his Lily B for nearly 40 years. The goal of the UNH Green Crab Project is "...to identify a clear window of time when male and female green crabs are molting as part of the exploration of the soft-shell green crab market and fishery in the Granite State."Matt Lewis, chef and owner of Moxy Restaurant, has been experimenting with using green crab in his dishes.
Capt. Don Taylor has been running chartered fishing trips on his Lily B for nearly 40 years.
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The goal of the UNH Green Crab Project is "...to identify a clear window of time when male and female green crabs are molting as part of the exploration of the soft-shell green crab market and fishery in the Granite State."
Matt Lewis, chef and owner of Moxy Restaurant, has been experimenting with using green crab in his dishes.
August 11, 2020 at 06:58AM
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The invasive green crab is decimating New Hampshire's seafood industry - WCVB Boston
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