Catania turns the tables on invasive blue crabs

In a suburb of Catania on Sicily's east coast, smoke billows from street stands selling grilled horse meat, and youngsters gather around kiosks selling the region's unique handmade drink, seltz limone esale (seltzer with lemon and sea salt).

- Ismail Einashe

It is here that a family of charismatic ex-fishers have opened a seafood restaurant that bravely challenges long-held regional conventions.

The Salamone family sell all the usual local specialities in their slick new business La Fish, such as Sicily's famous swordfish, sardines and tuna.

However, the feature of tonight's tasting menu is a relative newcomer to these shores and to Sicilian tables: the Atlantic blue crab.

Inside the restaurant, about half a dozen blue crabs are displayed on a large fish counter alongside an array of other seafood. These crabs, with their blue claws and olive-green shells, are creating a crisis. Originating from the western Atlantic Ocean, they have no natural predators in the Mediterranean and feed on young clams, disrupting traditional shellfish harvests and affecting Italy's position as one of the top clam producers in the world.