A classification of Chinese mitten crab as an invasive species by the European Union has ruined a valuable export business for Dutch seafood firm Meromar Seafoods BV. The firm has seen its exports of mitten crabs – 95 percent of its sales to Hong Kong – evaporate with the move by Brussels.
All E.U. member states must publish management plans to harvest the Chinese mitten crab, a species long present in northern European waters. Without such a management plan in place, crabs caught in European waters can’t be fished, making it impossible for Meromar to buy significant catches from fishermen for grading and export, explained company executive André Seinen. Typically only 30 percent of the typical catch by European crab fishermen is over the 120-gram weight, which is the size required on the Chinese market.
Holland, like many E.U. states, doesn’t yet have a management plan in place – André said he hopes this plan will be in place soon but currently officials are on holidays. The classification of crabs as an ‘exotic’ invasive species doesn’t make sense, he said, since they’ve been in Europe for over 100 years. The whole endeavor has “not been well thought out” and “not well communicated” to the effected parties, he added.
The mitten crab is the latest species to be added to the E.U.’s list of “invasive alien species.” These species “represent a major threat to native plants and animals in Europe, causing damage worth billions of euros to the European economy every year,” according to the European Commission, the civil service of the E.U.
Seinen said five percent of Meromar’s sales came from mitten crab exports to Hong Kong; the firm also has a significant shellfish and finfish trade. There is steady demand for mitten crab in Asia, with sales particularly strong for traditional festivals. In the absence of an E.U. management plan and the recommencement of fishing, desperate buyers may look to the black market for their needs, Seinen said.
In response to the ruling, Meromar has also had to shelve plans to expand its crab farming activities, even though the Dutch government provided grant funding worth almost EUR 1 million (USD 1.1 million) to help grow the sector.
