Portugal has ongoing action plans to control invasive exotic species that cause disease, the extinction of other species and incur huge costs. According to Ambiente Magazine, there are plans to control species such as the Louisiana red crayfish, the Japanese oyster, the African clawed frog, the Japanese clam or the catfish.
The latter, also known as the Siluro, is a carnivore native to Central Europe that has become dominant in the Tagus River. The Japanese clam is also the dominant bivalve in several Portuguese estuaries, becoming an economically important resource in the Tagus Estuary. According to the United Nations (UN), the annual cost worldwide of invasive alien species already exceeds €390 billion.
This year, Portugal will host the international conference “Neobiota” from Tuesday to Friday at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, dedicated to biological invasions. 460 experts from 50 countries are expected to attend.