SHELLFISH farmers around the world know the necessity to control predators like crabs, starfish and whelk tingles, that all feed on bivalves, by trapping or catching them.
Starfish are pests of mollusc cultivation throughout the world. In northern Europe, the common starfish (Asterias rubens) is considered the most destructive predator of natural and cultivated stocks of mussels. On the east coast of Canada, it is the worst enemy of oysters.
Plaques of 'Crown of Thorns' starfish have devastated coral reefs in the Red Sea and the Indo - Pacific area and the literature shows that different types of starfish do cause havoc to bivalves in many countries.
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