The Conch Podcast - Mary Parks

Have you heard of the GREEN CRAB, which is commonly known as the “world’s worst invasive species?”

Harming ecosystems and other species, the green crab is bad news—which makes it a great species to eat! 

But how do you go about building a culinary market for an invasive species, especially given that many Americans don’t stray too far from seafoods like salmon, tuna, and shrimp? 

Here to tell us on Season 5, Episode 9 of The Conch podcast is Mary Parks, the amazing Executive Director of Greencrab.org.

On a mission to spread awareness of its invasive impact, Mary’s taking the green crab from “problem to plate”!

Transcript

Episode Guide

• :04 Introducing Mary Parks, Executive Director of Greencrab.org.
• 01:00  Mary introduces us to the invasive green crab, commonly referred to as the world's “worst invasive species” and shares how they ended up in U.S. waters
• 04:08 The havoc that green crabs cause to both ecosystems and other animals
• 06:55  Green crabs are new(ish) to the West Coast
• 08:37 Mary’s journey to start Greencrab.org, a nonprofit that builds and supports culinary markets for European green crab, and also spreads awareness of their invasive impact
• 12:17 Venetians traditionally eat green crab roe. It’s a delicacy!
• 15:03 Mary shares the fascinating process of molting a green crab
• 20;00 How to build a market for an invasive species
• 25:39 Let’s say you’re a seafood harvester finding a lot of green crab—what do you do? Mary walks us through some critical steps and how Greencrab.org can help
• 31:23 A lot of communities, like the Khmer, cook green crabs in a variety of exciting ways and it’s important to acknowledge these communities in terms of their seafood buying power
• 35:17 Greencrab.org launched a harvester survey to understand who is participating in the fishery
• 36:43 Mary gives a shout-out to Isaura Buasier, an incredible chef who is redefining New England’s seafood cuisine

Resources: 

1. Check out Greencrab.org to learn about the invasive green crab and even which restaurants serve them on their menus!
2. Recommend this episode to one person who is curious about stopping the spread of the world’s worst invasive species, the green crab