why crabs?
An overly abundant resource
One of the issues that Decameal is addressing, is the common shore crab.
This particular species of crabs has exploded in numbers over the past 20 years, and the species now has a significant negative impact on our marine ecosystems. They are essentially overplaying their role as cleaners of the sea, and their large appetite now affects other species negatively.
Where the crabs increase in numbers, a loss of biodiversity follows. The common shore crab (Carcinus maenas) feeds on fish eggs and larvae, thereby impacting the fish stocks in many generations to come. The crabs also feed on a wide range of mussels and clams, and they have been the direct cause of the collapse of mussel fisheries around the world. Lastly but not least, the crabs degrade the all-important eelgrass meadows by destroying and destabilizing the rootsystems.
Crabs in Denmark
2016-2019
That is why we want to do something about this hungry crustacean!
The ecological and societal impact of harvesting crabs can also be enormous, as removal of the crabs improves something that belongs to all of us – our coastal waters. This benefits all of us, as Decameal will help restore balance in the ecosystems, heighten biodiversity, and bring a much needed income through crab fisheries to the many small-scale and sustainable fishermen who bring life and culture to our small costal towns. As millions and millions are spent on restoring our ecosystems to a healthier state, removal of crabs could be a key player in achieving this goal.
On a national scale we want to reduce the amount of CO2 produced by our agricultural sector here in Denmark. If just 100.000 tons of the crab resource in our coastal waters is utilized for protein each year, it could save the feed sector more than 65.000 tons of CO2 compared to imported Brazillian soy (Estimate from preliminary LCA). This way, we can help the Danish agricultural sector move closer to the goal of reducing emissions by 8,000,000 tons by 2030.The removal of crabs also has the benefit of removing nutrients from the Danish waters. If we reuse the example of utilizing 100.000 tons of crabs per year, 1600 tons of nitrogen and 1500 tons of phosphorus could be removed from our waters each year. This also brings us closer to our national and international goals of reducing the nutrient load in our oceans!