CRABoost – Fostering innovation to boost the competitiveness of MSMEs in the blue crab business
Project Code: SA-0300336
Call: Call for Standard Project Proposals Interreg IPA South Adriatic 2021-2027
Programme priority: PA 1 – A smarter South Adriatic programme area, by promoting innovative and smart economic transformation
Specific objective: S.O.1.1: Enhancing sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs and job creation in SMEs, including by productive investments
Financed by: Interreg IPA South Adriatic 2021-2027
Period: July 2025 – December 2027
Budget (Total): € 1.110.204,00; Interreg Contribution: € 913.930,20
Budget (Dhitech): € 236.385,00; Interreg Contribution: € 189.108,00; FdR Contribution: € 47.277,00
The CRABoost project was created to address one of the main environmental and economic challenges facing the South Adriatic area: the spread of the invasive blue crab (Callinectes sapidus). In recent years, this species has rapidly expanded across the Mediterranean, severely impacting local fisheries and aquaculture by preying on and competing with native, commercially valuable species.
This situation has led to a steady decline in productivity, putting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the fishery value chain under significant pressure, reducing profitability and threatening jobs.
CRABoost aims to turn this challenge into an opportunity for sustainable growth. Since the blue crab disregards political borders, the project adopts a transnational approach to ensure coordinated regional action across the South Adriatic, supporting joint strategies to manage its spread and minimize its negative impacts.
Through the development and transfer of innovative solutions for blue crab valorization, CRABoost fosters economic growth in the fisheries and processing sectors while strengthening the competitiveness of industrial companies. A key innovation is the implementation and transfer of a Soft-Shell Crab processing system, tailored to the needs and investment capacities of South Adriatic businesses. The project will also provide technical guidelines and market analyses to facilitate access to national and international markets.
In addition, CRABoost promotes a cross-border strategy for the exploitation of blue crab by-products under a circular economy perspective. By engaging fishing and processing companies alongside industrial sectors such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, the project encourages research, innovation, and investment in new circular business models.
CRABoost represents a shared commitment to transforming an ecological challenge into a sustainable and competitive development opportunity for the South Adriatic area.
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