Have you heard of the GREEN CRAB, which is commonly known as the "world's worst invasive species?"
Harming ecosystems and other species, the green crab is bad news—which makes it a great species to eat!
But how do you go about building a culinary market for an invasive species, especially given that many Americans don't stray too far from seafoods like salmon, tuna, and shrimp?
Here to tell us on Season 5, Episode 9 of The Conch podcast is Mary Parks, the amazing Executive Director of Greencrab.org.
On a mission to spread awareness of its invasive impact, Mary's taking the green crab from "problem to plate"!
Transcript
Episode Guide
- :04 Introducing Mary Parks, Executive Director of Greencrab.org.
- 01:00 Mary introduces us to the invasive green crab, commonly referred to as the world's "worst invasive species" and shares how they ended up in U.S. waters
- 04:08 The havoc that green crabs cause to both ecosystems and other animals
- 06:55 Green crabs are new(ish) to the West Coast
- 08:37 Mary's journey to start Greencrab.org, a nonprofit that builds and supports culinary markets for European green crab, and also spreads awareness of their invasive impact
- 12:17 Venetians traditionally eat green crab roe. It's a delicacy!
- 15:03 Mary shares the fascinating process of molting a green crab
- 20;00 How to build a market for an invasive species
- 25:39 Let's say you're a seafood harvester finding a lot of green crab—what do you do? Mary walks us through some critical steps and how Greencrab.org can help
- 31:23 A lot of communities, like the Khmer, cook green crabs in a variety of exciting ways and it's important to acknowledge these communities in terms of their seafood buying power
- 35:17 Greencrab.org launched a harvester survey to understand who is participating in the fishery
- 36:43 Mary gives a shout-out to Isaura Buasier, an incredible chef who is redefining New England's seafood cuisine
Resources:
- Check out Greencrab.org to learn about the invasive green crab and even which restaurants serve them on their menus!
- Recommend this episode to one person who is curious about stopping the spread of the world's worst invasive species, the green crab
