Blue Crab Blues
One family's fight to survive Italy's blue crab invasion
November 2024
The Sacca di Scardovari, in Italy's Po Delta, was once one of its poorest corners. That changed in the 1980s, when the introduction of the Manila clam turned the lagoon into one of Italy's richest shellfish-farming grounds, making the country the EU's leading producer.
That economy is now unraveling. The invasive blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), native to the Atlantic coast of the Americas, has spread rapidly through the Po Delta in recent years, devastating the same clam and mussel farms the community came to depend on.
For Massimo's family, the invasion meant scaling back a fishing trade built over generations. Now they're trying to turn the same crab that ruined their business into a new one — attempting to open a small restaurant inside their cavana, serving the very species they once considered pure loss.
The film follows Massimo, known locally as the "poet-fisherman," his daughter Meri and his brother Moreno, as they adapt to a catch nobody wanted, and to a trade that can no longer support the family the way it used to.
A few kilometers away, the former Porto Tolle power plant — once one of Italy's largest, capable of covering roughly 8% of the country's electricity needs before its 2015 closure — is being dismantled to make way for a tourist resort.
Davide Preti has been documenting the story since November 2024, in the Sacca di Scardovari, northern Italy.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — November 7, 2024.
Local fisherman Massimo, known here as the "poet-fisherman," inside his cavana — a traditional wooden stilt house in the Sacca di Scardovari lagoon.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — December 4, 2024.
Massimo's cavana, seen from above, standing in the waters of the Sacca di Scardovari lagoon near Porto Tolle, northern Italy.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — November 8, 2024.
Abandoned wooden pile structures once used for traditional mussel farming, standing in the waters of the Po Delta near Porto Tolle — destroyed by the invasive blue crab.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — November 8, 2024.
Massimo pointing to the crab traps (nasse) he sets to capture the invasive blue crabs overrunning the Po Delta.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — December 4, 2024.
The claw of an invasive blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) — the crushing strength that has let this alien species devastate the local shellfish farms.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — December 4, 2024.
Massimo and his daughter Meri pulling blue crabs from a trap, harvesting the predatory species together after the collapse of the local shellfish sector.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — December 4, 2024.
Massimo showing Meri how to tell male and female blue crabs apart — passing on knowledge as the family adapts to the crisis.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — December 4, 2024.
Meri setting out to harvest crabs. She only comes out on the water occasionally now, working mostly as a hairdresser since the local clam industry collapsed.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — March 12, 2025.
Massimo and his brother Moreno weighing and bagging blue crabs in three-kilogram batches for the local cooperative and commercial markets.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — November 8, 2024.
Massimo and Moreno unloading bags of blue crabs outside the Scardovari fishermen's cooperative.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — November 8, 2024.
Bags of blue crabs packed for distribution to local markets, inside the Scardovari fishermen's cooperative.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — December 4, 2024.
Massimo sorting blue crabs by size with specialized tongs, grading the catch for different market segments.
Scardovari Lagoon, Italy — November 8, 2024.
Massimo cleaning a blue crab at the edge of his cavana, ahead of a family lunch.
Porto Tolle, Italy — December 5, 2024.
The chimney of the former Porto Tolle power plant, undergoing dismantling following its 2015 closure, to make way for a new tourist resort.
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