Invasive species can have extremely negative effects on local ecosystems. They can rob native plant and animal life of much-needed resources and food, and disrupt habitats. But some enterprising governments are figuring out how to fight back in eco-friendly ways, as evidenced by news out of Ottawa.
The Telegraph-Journal reported that the province's fisheries minister, Joanne Thompson, announced last week the first commercial fishery for European green crab in New Brunswick. The European green crab was first spotted in the area in 1951 and since then, has been multiplying at a rapid pace. Locals say the crabs decimate dulse beds as well as eat clams and lobster in the area.
Smart programs like this answer several questions at once. First and foremost, they offer economic relief for people in the area. They provide new jobs for local fishermen, while also preserving the jobs of others. And they hopefully restore balance to delicate ecosystems already under threat by warming temperatures around the globe.
And this is only one of many outside-the-box programs to address invasive species. For example, officials in Ohio drained Clintonville's Whetstone Casting Pond to prevent the spread of an invasive fish species called round gobies. Elsewhere, officials in Maine have relied on a steady stream of volunteers to rid the Songo River of leaf milfoil.
Local leaders in the area explained why something drastic needed to be done about the European green crabs.
"They eat many of the different kinds of sea life in the inshore… They are invasive and very, very destructive," said Amy Howe, general manager of the Grand Manan Fishermen's Association.
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But the officials behind the program were optimistic that this could be a solution to an environmental problem while also creating a more promising jobs market in the area.
"By opening this commercial fishery pilot, we are taking a practical step to reduce its presence and impact, while creating new economic opportunities for Indigenous communities and local harvesters," explained Thompson.
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