Giant oyster invasion - Royal Danish Embassy pleads for help on Weibo

Giant oyster invasion - the Royal Danish Embassy seeks help on Weibo. [File photo: Weibo.com]

An explosion in the population of giant oysters on Danish beaches has prompted an appeal for help on Chinese social media.

The Royal Danish Embassy in China has turned to Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, in desperation, seeking ways to control a plague of the giant shellfish along its shores.

The Embassy says experts and fishermen have long been concerned about the ecological impact of the invaders. [File photo: ifeng.com]

The Embassy says experts and fishermen have long been concerned about the ecological impact of the invaders. Although the Danish government has been encouraging its people to eat or hunt these giant oysters, but this move has proven ineffective. 

The Weibo appeal by the Royal Danish Embassy in China has already attracted thousands of suggestions from a nation of oyster lovers. According to the data from the Zhiyan organization, Chinese people consumed over 4,574,3000 tons of oysters in 2015, a five percent increase on the year before.

According to the data from the Zhiyan organization, Chinese people consumed over 4,574,3000 tons of oysters in 2015. [File photo: ifeng.com]

Some Chinese netizens have suggested that the Danish government start issuing tourist visas to oyster eaters, with others advising that they should simply sell them at a knock-down price, and the problem will be gone in just a couple of years. Some netizens in Fujian Province put forward the idea that after eating the giant oysters, their shells can be used to build shell houses, a traditional local feature in Fujian village.

According to the data from the Zhiyan organization, Chinese people consumed over 4,574,3000 tons of oysters in 2015. [File photo: ifeng.com]

The Danish oyster population explosion is far from being an isolated case it seems. In the past, a surfeit of carp and bullfrogs was reported in the United States; crayfish in Germany and Britain; and hairy crabs in Scotland. Since some of these creatures are very popular in Chinese cuisine, some exporters have become rich "killing two birds with one stone."

As of yesterday, the Weibo plea had been shared 8,000 times attracting 7,000 comments. The Royal Danish Embassy says it will consider exporting giant oysters to China if interested parties come forward.