Romagna has made a mistake: the blue one was an enemy, now it is a typical product

With a Tim Burton-style idea, the Romagna cooperation puts it in the kitchen. "It's great"

BOLOGNA – From calamity to opportunity. The people of Romagna are universal teachers of the motto “Making a virtue out of necessity”. And it also tries with a sworn enemy of mussel farming, which materialized last year with a “devastating impact”: the blue crab. Putting it in the pot and serving it at the table. Legacoop Agroalimentare e Cooperativa Casa del pescatore di Cattolica, in collaboration with Ecomondo, Legacoop Emilia-Romagna and the fishermen of the Goro fishermen’s consortium, Cooperativa la Vela, Cooperativa fishermen of Cervia, Casa del fisherman from Cesenatico and Cooperativa Lavoratori del Mare of Rimini, launch this morning, from the motor ship Bella Rimini docked in the canal port of the city of the Malatestas, the promotional campaign for regional fish products. And here the blue crab stands out, in fact, fresh, frozen or ready in sauce, together with Romagna mussel and Romagna clam. With the financing of the National Plan of the Ministry of Agriculture, the logo of the promotional campaign will characterize participating hotels and restaurants, initiatives will be organized during the summer, including participation in the regatta with boats made from quality materials recovery of August 3rd, and educational in schools. With closure in Friuli Venezia Giulia the products will be tasted in some school canteens. The objective, Massimo Bellavista, the fishing manager of Legacoop Emilia-Romagna, explains to the press, is “to introduce the blue crab into the gastronomic culture of Romagna”, from hotels and restaurants to home.

For over a year, after the invasion of this “alien species” in the Po Delta, adds Bellavista, “we have been actively engaged in the search for solutions that give support to the thousands of fishermen on their knees due to the drastic drop in the production of clams”. Losses in 2023 for the sector are estimated between 60 and 70 million euros, adds the president of Legacoop Agroalimentare Cristian Maretti. “After a year of fighting we understood that man is the only species that can contain their number – he argues – the impact is devastating from an economic, social and also environmental point of view”. Because it eats everything, swims and moves up to 30 kilometers from the coast, destroys plants and nets, causes damage to small-scale fishing and livestock farming, also as witnessed on the mullets in Sardinia and Sicily, and then in Greece and Tunisia. “Almost 80% of our cooperatives – he concludes – have been affected by a zeroing or reduction in production.

In short, as with every science fiction plot, the “alien species generates anxiety”, also because there is “fear of further repercussions not knowing its biological development”. So, with a Tim Burton-style idea, the Romagna cooperation puts it in the kitchen. “It’s excellent”, has no doubts Nicola Tontini, director of the Fisherman’s House in Cattolica who has activated a sales chain with the affected cooperatives for the sale of the fresh product on the local market and then of that transformed and prepared in Russian sauce, after more tests, in shops, restaurants, hotels and if possible in large-scale distribution.

Hoteliers are ready to do their part, the president of the Aia di Rimini Patrizia Rinaldis gives her support, suggesting a “positive message” at the start of the season, the ability to “transform a critical issue into excellence. We use all channels because becomes something normal. We sell a territory and certain situations put us at stake.” For her part, the Blue Economy councilor Anna Montini recalls that among the many recognized products of Emilia-Romagna, those of the sea are few. “It is the Romagnola mussel, the clam goes in that direction and the blue crab must be made a virtue of necessity.” Certainly, he concludes, “Rimini is used to challenges and we will win this one too”, starting to not consider it an alien species given that it has been present in the Adriatic for many years. So that the blue crab goes from infamous to famous.

READ ALSO: Blue crab, the government signs aid for fishermen