Starting on Monday, the Council of Agriculture (COA) will impose a ban on apple snail farming as the country’s latest effort to curb the invasive species and prevent it from damaging crops.
Pomacea canaliculata, or channeled apple snails, were introduced from Argentina into Taiwan in 1979. However, their flavor failed to win over the taste buds of Taiwanese consumers, forcing farmers to abandon their cultivation efforts. However, they are good adapters and quickly spread out of control into farmland, causing damage to rice paddies and aquatic plants.
Now, a new use for the mollusk might have prompted a boom in snail farming.
Biotechnology companies in Taiwan have reportedly spent huge sums of money developing a technology that extracts astaxanthin — a natural antioxidant used in anti-aging supplements — from the eggs of the mollusk. These companies estimate the annual value of skincare and healthcare products that use the substance could reach NT$12 billion (US$417 million).
However, the council has responded with a ban on the farming of the snails.
According to Fei Wen-chi (費雯綺) of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, her agency allocates NT$20 million annually to combat the spread of apple snails, which are ranked among the top 10 most invasive species in Taiwan.
Fei said those who illegally breed channeled apple snails would be subject to fines of between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000, and would be required to destroy their stock.
Her agency also said that biotech companies should purchase snails from farmers who catch them in their fields, which will reduce their numbers in the wild.
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