Eating Away an Invasion: Berlin food hall offers new solution in fight against crayfish plague

World
Europe

02:16

American crayfish are taking over Berlin's lakes at a rate that is alarming the authorities. CGTN's Guy Henderson reports.

Berlin's Market Hall Nine Food hall has a new option on the menu. This is not just any crayfish, it's American red swamp crayfish. Fish farmer Matthias Engels want people to help him eat the numbers down.

MATTHIAS ENGELS FISHERMAN "They contain a disease that is killing the local population of crayfish. That's why we have to reduce the amount of crayfish and we must take care that they cannot escape into other rivers or lakes in Germany."

Someone let them into the wild in April. They have multiplied at an astonishing rate. They must catch them first. That's where 63-year-old former banker Klaus Hidde comes in: he's vastly outnumbered.

KLAUS HIDDE FISHERMAN "They can have babies within 6 months of being born. If we fish them out, there's then more food for the others so they keep multiplying. Our idea is to fish them out to decrease the population."

These tasty incrustations are simply taking over.

GUY HENDERSON BERLIN "Klaus and his son have caught something like 10,000 American crayfish in just 2 German lakes in the last 6 weeks. And yet they still doubt that's made much of a dent in the population. These animals are listed as alien invasive species by the European Union. And local authorities are concerned."

Because, on a slightly more serious note, the race is on to keep this problem localised. Or it could start having a significant impact on the wider eco-sphere.

DIRK EHLERT BERLIN SENATE "Local species are running out of food, and they're also getting sick. Local amphibians and reptiles are highly protected here: we want to keep them. The danger is they will die out because of these new arrivals."

Trans-Atlantic relations are strained right now beneath the surface, they've hit a new low. GH, CGTN, BERLIN.