Voracious spider crabs threaten French mussel farms

Producers warn that unless crabs are curbed, mussel production in Normandy and Brittany may end within a decade

French mussel farmers have said voracious spider crabs that have infested the country's western coast are destroying their shellfish and livelihoods as warming seas allow the migratory animals to spend more of the year offshore.

Angry producers in Normandy and Brittany are demanding to be allowed to control crab numbers by killing them or using dredging nets to drag those ravaging their mussel parks" further out to sea.