Combatting invasive species never looked so delicious.

TikToker Alanna Kieffer (@shifting_tides_nw) showed her followers an easy and innovative way to help control their local invasive species populations and get a great meal for free.

In her video, she detailed how Oregon's estuaries and bays are commonly filled with European green crabs — invasive to their location.

@shifting_tides_nw With crab season just openning but it also being soup season, heres some info on how to make crab stock using invasive European Green Crabs! Have you ever had crab stock? #oregoncrabbing #crabstock #seafoodlover ♬ original sound - Alanna Kieffer

To combat this, Alanna takes a few home anytime she goes crabbing, keeping them in her freezer until she has enough to boil for stock.

Along with the crabs, she puts in plenty of leftover frozen vegetable scraps from past meals, her favorite herbs and spices, and a whole lot of water. After boiling everything together, she strains out "all the chunky bits" and is left with flavorful crab stock to sip on its own or to add to other meals.

Invasive species like the European green crab threaten the balance of the ecosystems they occupy. Efforts to cut down their numbers, be they through savory stock or scientific study, all contribute to the greater purpose of a thriving ecological system.

For humans, the careful equilibrium of the ecosystems we live in directly affects how the economy thrives or struggles. According to the Science of The Total Environment journal, "The wide-reaching ecological impacts of individual invasive species in the United States have been correlated with marked economic impacts," with estimates reaching at least $1.22 trillion.

Beyond costing people unimaginable accumulative amounts of money in losses, invasive species also often come at a cost to the native species living around them. They choke out flora and fauna meant to keep the ecosystem thriving and dominate the food chain with no natural predators, reproducing at high rates and multiplying rapidly.

Many people like Alanna have made efforts to put their own dent in the various invasive species living around their local areas. The key to combating these issues is to support eco-friendly initiatives and to become educated on critical climate issues like this one. 

In response to Alanna's creative way of fighting back against the invasive green crabs, commenters expressed their surprise and interest.

One asked, "Barnacles too? Didn't want to take them off?" in reference to the barnacles that some of the crabs Alanna caught had on their shells. Alanna responded and clarified that "they're edible too!"

What is the biggest reason you don't grow food at home? Not enough time ⏳ Not enough space 🤏 It seems too hard 😬 I have a garden already 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.