Italy has deployed an army of octopuses as it attempts to grapple with an invasive species of crab.

The innovative method of pest control has seen tens of thousands of octopuses released into the sea to take on the blue crabs.

Since they were accidentally introduced to the Italian coast decades ago, the blue crabs have exploded in population due to the lack of natural predators. 

This has caused misery for many fishermen with the clawed crustaceans taking to tearing holes in fishing nets and devouring commercially valuable clams and mussels.

The crabs have caused an estimated £170million worth of damage according to Coldiretti – an organisation representing fishermen and farmers.

But now, the blue crabs’ reign of terror along Italy’s shores could be coming to an end thanks to 130,000 baby common octopuses which have been released into the sea by scientists.

The ‘Octo-Blu’ project hopes that once the cephalopods are fully grown they will be capable of eating up to four crabs a day.

The sea creatures have been released off the Adriatic coastal towns of Riccione and Cesenatico, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, which have been hard hit by the crabs.

But this initial group of baby octopuses are just the beginning with plans already being drawn up for the sea creatures to be deployed along the Mediterranean.

An Italian fisherman holds a blue crab. Since they were accidentally introduced to the Italian coast decades ago, the blue crabs have exploded in population due to the lack of natural predators 

Now, killer octopuses are being brought in to fight them…

And seemingly winning… 

Alessio Mammi, who is in charge of agriculture and fisheries for Emilia-Romagna, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The blue crab is not just an invasive species, it represents one of the most serious crises to have hit our waters.’

He added that the crabs have destroyed 70 per cent of clam production in some areas.

And the financial impact across parts of northern Italy has been felt with some aquaculture businesses being forced to close due to the crabs.

The species has also shown itself to be stubbornly adaptable with blue crabs being discovered some 100 miles from the mouth of the river Po on the Adriatic coast – setting a record for the furthest freshwater incursion in Europe.

While it remains to be seen if the octopuses will be successful, experts have insisted they could have a huge impact on the blue crab population – which numbers in the tens of millions.

Dr Oliviero Mordenti from Bologna University said: ‘If a single octopus eats a female blue crab, you need to remember that the crab could have produced 1.5 million eggs, even two million.’

While scientists are hoping the octopuses will help cull the population of crabs, the Italian government is hoping to encourage residents to do their part to tackle the issue as well, by encouraging Italians to develop an appetite for blue crab.

The species has started appearing on supermarkets’ shelves and in fishmongers while restaurants are finding new ways to use blue crab in salads and pasta dishes.