Posted on 02/12/2009 1:07:25 PM PST by nickcarraway
The species of crab which is wreaking havoc in the Thames could soon be under control - and in our tummies.
Scientists have deemed the river's Chinese mitten crab population fit for human consumption.
They believe that catching the pest and selling it in restaurants and shops could be a viable way of controlling its numbers.
The crab, named for its bristled claws which resemble mittens, has been colonising the Thames and other rivers around England.
It burrows into and destroys fragile riverbanks, preys on other species and competes with native animals such as crayfish.
The idea of harvesting the crabs was raised in a two-year pilot fishing programme by the Natural History Museum.
Although they are considered a delicacy in south- east Asia, the London Port Health Authority, the food authority for the Thames, needed to study whether our version was safe.
Scientists from the authority, along with other food and environmental experts, tested samples of the mitten crabs' white and brown meat.
They discovered that levels of metal and hydrocarbon contaminants were too low to be of concern but that organochlorines, including dioxins, were relatively high.
However, levels of these substances were higher in crabs from the Netherlands, from where most London food businesses source their mitten crabs.
The experts said it was unlikely anyone would eat enough crabs for it to be a risk to health, especially as the mitten crabs were available only for three to four months a year.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
“I wonder how they got introduced?”
Well, it may have gone something like this:
Hello, Doodad, this is Mitten Crab -
Mitten Crab, meet Doodad.
seaHarmony.com
I knew that was coming after I hit post.
You would have done the same for any one of us. Don’t mention it.
That was way cool..Thanks
Amazing about the crawfish.
Indian states use the masses of Dalits (untouchables) to clear the plagues of whatever, rats, locusts, snakes, etc.
Seeing how the UK has permanently lost it’s manufacturing base, I suggest the watermelon Labour party put their environmentalist and welfare state policies into a marriage of convenience and start employing the unemployed to go crawfish hunting. I recall Gordon Browne promising 100,000 green jobs sometime in late 2008. Here’s his chance.
Check out post 13.
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