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MirandaB

MirandaB

Member
Joined
28 Apr 2013
Messages
1,025
Location
Suffolk/Norfolk Border
As it was so hot today I decided to have a mooch about in the river at the bottom of the garden.
Came across this though which wasn't what I'd like to have seen 😡 28372231245_e2805bebe8_c.jpg
28293561601_e74d2a7230_c.jpg
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,
The claws are different in Turkish and Signal (Pacifastacus leniusculus) Crayfish. I've never eaten a "Astacus leptodactylus", but I believe they taste lovely and potentially grow pretty large.

cheers Darrel
Click to expand...

It was rather tasty :hungry: I'm going to apply for a licence to trap as apparently my neighbour sees a lot in the mill race that runs down the side of his house.
 
I see those turks are offered as aquarium pets for a few euros.. But it already seemed to be introduced in western Europe since the 1950 to replace the Astacus astacus which was wiped out by a pest which was introduced with Amrican crayfish in Europe. According reports it is widely spread over whole Europe except, Spain, Portugal and Ireland yet not. So there seems no turning back, welcome or not. They reproduce with about 400 egs per cycle. In Belgium it was 10 years ago already reported in huge numbers in all kind of waters.. 🙂
 
Is it the one that was on Countryfile that is a real danger to the native crayfish and I think theres a org.? to report sightings
 
MirandaB said:
I'm going to apply for a licence to trap as apparently my neighbour sees a lot in the mill race that runs down the side of his house.
Click to expand...

Good luck! Whether you're granted a license depends on a lot of factors, including your geographical location. So if you live anywhere near any indigenous white clawed crayfish you're gonna be out of luck (like I am). The further south in England you go it seems the more likely you are to get one issued.

It's worth calling the local EA officer up and discussing it, rather than spending time filling the forms in, buying traps, etc. They were happy to discuss is with me.

I understand that you only need a license if you're using traps. If you're hauling them out of the river on a piece of string tied to a bacon rind then you're OK, in fact I think it's illegal to throw them back and they must be destroyed.
 
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