Fishermen use traditional technique in Tunisia's Kerkennah Islands - in pictures

A 'charfia' involves embedding palm fronds in the seabed

A view of a charfia, a traditional fishing technique being used on the Kerkennah Islands, off Sfax in Tunisia. Around Tunisia, warming seas have encouraged reproduction by invasive species such as the blue crab. All photos by Reuters

Fisherman Salah Zawem shows off a blue crab. 'Before this Daesh (or 'ISIS', a name given by fishermen to the blue crabs) appeared, we used to find fish, but now we no longer find anything.'

A fisherman checks a charfia. The blue crabs have been afflicting these fishermen since 2011, with many who used to catch fish or octopus now finding only crabs

Boats enter Al Ataya Port on the Kerkennah Islands. There are now more than 30 factories processing crabs — with two of them located in Kerkennah

A worker throws ice on freshly caught blue crabs at a seafood exporting company in Al Ataya Port

Habib Zrida, owner of seafood exporting company L'ocean de peche, watches employees working on blue crabs. 'Fishermen now want to work with the blue crab,' he says. 'It has become a source of livelihood, after it was a curse.'

A worker cuts crab meat at L'ocean de peche. In May last year, blue crab exports from Tunisia were valued at $7.2m — more than double the value of the same time period in 2020, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation

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