# Crayfish again?!? (Pictures heavy abit)



## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Theres a pond in walking/driving distance to where i live,i loved going there when i was youngish but hardly went,the last time i went i saw loads of frogs and tadpoles that was about 4years ago,i decided to go up there today to take pictures of landscapes for my art work,while i was there ive seen some amazing stuff..
Pictures to follow in a min,i saw dragonflies which i havnt seen for AGGEEESSSS,ive seen the white butterfly (dunno its name) and afew other bugs,ducks and fish..
Then as me and my younger sister walked around the pond i saw some kids and said to my sister im going down there to see if they've caught anything so i can take a picture of it.
I started talking to them and they were after crayfish,i was shocked because 1)i never thought about them being there and 2)i was shocked that they knew where to catch them.
They were around the edge of the rock/wall,these kids had nets and some bread and waiting till they caught some,they manage to catch one in 5mins of waiting,i was shocked,i grabbed two photos of it before they put it in the bucket.
I asked them have they done this before and basically this is what they told me,they said yea they've caught about 25 before and kept them in buckets til they died,i was shocked i said you have to have a specail big tank for these and you cant just take loads outta the pond,i was shocked they didnt seem to care they just catch them for them to die in a bucket basically.
I walked away my little sister knows 3 of the boys that was there because they are her age,but no matter what i would of did say these kids didnt seem to give to shits about what they were ddoing to these creatures.
I hate seeing animals going to waste like this,if they were old enough and wise and had afew and was breeding them to put more back into the pond then fair enough but this isit the case that they are doing.
Pictures bellow.








































I have to add,what action can be taken because they are going to carry on taking them outta the pond,isit again the law or something?


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

They are actually Damselflies not Dragonflies :whistling2:

Crayfish eat a lot of fish fry and can breed like mad, I think they were 
introduced into rivers by man (I may be wrong) and they have started to over take. I can fully understand that killing them for no reason is cruel but it isnt going to make much of a dent on the population.

By the way, nice pic of the carp : victory:


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

If you catch a Signal Crayfish(the alien species) in british waters it is actually illegal to put them back.


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

Same applies for the american mink.


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## Ferret1959 (Jul 16, 2008)

I know it is a requirement by law in England and Wales to have a permit for catching native crayfish.

How to catch crayfish | The Field


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

I didnt know that,to be honest i havnt read up anything at all on crayfish appart from i know they are scavengers and eat anything.
Okay well the way they were talking about catching 25 at one time,there must be alot,well i doubt they could actually take every single one outta the pond,its a pretty huge pond,and my mistake about the Damselflie,ive never got a book out to read on them but they are cute,there were millions about and i was happy to see them lol.


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

So isit a bad thing what they are doing or a good??

Just wondering,its no good giving me articles to read im dyslexic and struggle reading big words too,sorry to sound dumb but i just get confused when they use big words i dont understand.


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## Ferret1959 (Jul 16, 2008)

The crays look like signals but even so they need to be aware they could get into bother if they catch native crays.

I would report the indecent to the RSPCA and see what they have to say about it.

It's like kids catching newts, they don't know any different but should be made aware.

Might be best coming from a person with authority or the kids will just take no notice.

Let us know what the RSPCA say.


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## cammylover (Aug 31, 2008)

the native crayfish is a small one, they dont get big old claws, and are a different colour to these one. 

i think its you need a license to put pots in a river and take large ammount, but if your fishing or just neting about, you dont. There is a lake my dad goes to fishing and he catches alot of them, He doesnt put them back, we dont have the heart to kill them so we have a couple in our pond. they are stunning, and the males with there big claws that are red. luvly lol


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## ashmellor (Apr 5, 2008)

after speaking to an environment agency officer a while ago, i was told that crayfish are a menace, but through taking them out, they breed more to replace the lost ones and so create a bigger problem.

it is not illigal to catch them i think (dont trust me on that), but illegal to put back.

try them on the bbq


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Haha okay well half of the world have different rules about these creatures,oh well i spose its life,i was abit miffed about them chucking them in buckets to basically rot,but i spose every other kid around the world does it.
I just dunno anymore i doubt id see them up there again because i hardly go there.stupid kids lol:bash:


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

Tell em to whack em in a boiling hot pan of water... they're supposed to taste delicious.


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

Jack the kipper said:


> Tell em to whack em in a boiling hot pan of water... they're supposed to taste delicious.


Haha sick,i doubt id be eatting one,they look unpleasent to eat in my eyes.


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

just noticed yr in Aberteleri... didn't realise the signals were this far south!. Might get a trapping licence myself seeing as they're free.


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## cammylover (Aug 31, 2008)

i was told they taste like prawns just a dam site biggar hehehe

also had another man say they taste mank.

i think you would have to keep them in clean ater for abit befor eating, or they may taste abit muddy....


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## .D.o.m.i.n.o. (Aug 19, 2007)

cammylover said:


> i was told they taste like prawns just a dam site biggar hehehe
> 
> also had another man say they taste mank.
> 
> i think you would have to keep them in clean ater for abit befor eating, or they may taste abit muddy....


Prawns,sick! I think im allergic to prawns anyways haha,well had a bad reaction when eatting pasta with prawn juice init i thinky lol.


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## bothrops (Jan 7, 2007)

alpharoyals said:


> They are actually Damselflies not Dragonflies :whistling2:
> 
> Crayfish eat a lot of fish fry and can breed like mad, I think they were
> introduced into rivers by man (I may be wrong) and they have started to over take. I can fully understand that killing them for no reason is cruel but it isnt going to make much of a dent on the population.
> ...


As you (correctly) corrected the dragonfly/damselfly misidentification, it's only fair I point out that the fish is clearly a brown trout and not a carp!:Na_Na_Na_Na:





.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> Haha okay well half of the world have different rules about these creatures,oh well i spose its life,i was abit miffed about them chucking them in buckets to basically rot,but i spose every other kid around the world does it.
> I just dunno anymore i doubt id see them up there again because i hardly go there.stupid kids lol:bash:


I agree it is a total waste of life to have these animals die in a bucket for no good reason, but as said these particular animals are alien invaders and need to be removed.

The American signal crayfish (aswell as being much larger and more aggressive than our native crayfish) carries a fingus which although appears to have no effect on them it devastates our little natives. Huge efforts are underway to eliminate the signal and to stop it reaching the few remaining strongholds of our native crays.

They do indeed make excellent eating and should be quickly boiled and then tossed through a load of garlic, lime and chilli........:mf_dribble::mf_dribble::mf_dribble:



Wrong they should be left to die, wrong to put them back - right to eat the days catch!

Cheers

Andy


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## connor 1213 (Apr 6, 2009)

:censor:ING HELL IS THAT A LOBSTER


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## Reptile-newb (Jul 13, 2009)

Click below.

eFishBusiness - Controls on Non Native Fish Species

There is a map. On that map it shows where you can and where you can't keep signal crayfish that have been caught in local rivers.

You are in Gwent, which is in a part of Wales where you cannot trap and keep this cray. The red shows where you can trap and keep signal crayfish and the green shows where you can't. The green bit is the part where the crays are nearly all signals. The red is where there are a considerably amount of native white claw crayfish.

If you want to keep your crayfish, you must do so in a tank not a pond.

That crayfish is a signal crayfish. If you look between it's pincers there is a white blotch. That means it's a signal crayfish.

I'm afraid that kid who was leaving the cray to die was doing the best thing. These signal crayfish are competing, eating and spreading diseases to the native white claw crayfish which are now very rare as a result. We are slowly losing the white claw.

Signal crayfish are from North America.

I have split sentences up and used short words, hopefully you can read this with ease.


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## AndyJY (Jul 30, 2009)

in scotland im sure u cant take them any distance away from the bank dead or alive(incase of spreding to other waters) they have to be killed and left or eatin where u catch them.


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## Just_A_Beginner (Jul 7, 2008)

I did my BSc Geography & Conservation final year dissertation on the crayfish situation in the UK. I'm really pleased to see that there are plenty of people on this forum who have got thier facts pretty straight! As part of my research I stubled upon River Cottage and wild food forums where people had such a complete disregard for the laws surrounding these animals it was appaling! The kind of disregard that leads to otters and water voles drowning in illegal crayfish traps (which has happened on a few rivers now).

Those crayfish the kids were catching are definately invasive American Signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). The white/pale/turqoise 'signal' flag markings on their claw hinge is a dead giveaway. Our native White-Clawed crayfish is smaller, tends to be quite shy and has narrow, slender claws which are dark on top and pale/creamy white on the underside.

Technically, in the black-and-white eyes of the law, it is illegal to introduce the Signal crayfish to a water course with fines as high as £2000 odd pounds for intentional introduction. This includes putting a Signal back into the water after you have caught it. Legally, you are obliged to kill it.

It falls into irrelevance really. The Signals carry a fungus called Aphanomyces astaci; the crayfish plague. It is an American fungus to which American crayfish species have defences against, but all other crayfish species accross the globe are susceptible to. The plague has been spread via introduced Signal crayfish across Europe and in Japan.

A number of British Astacologists put a 20 yr timeframe on our native white-clawed crayfish's survival. The current focus is not on eliminating the invasive crayfish, but on limiting the damage as it spreads accross the country. Signal crayfish are still spreading almost exclusively via introductions by people, picking them up, moving them around, taking them home, putting them in thier ponds (from which they easily escape, they can cover A LOT of ground and do so willingly).

My study was focused on my home county of Warwickshire. In the 1980's, there were LOADS of native crayfish in the River Blythe between Coventry and Birmingham. Signal crayfish which escaped from a nearby fishing pool in the late 1980's have completely replaced them.

A lake near Nuneaton is a world-class refuge for our native crayfish, with an impressive population of them, cut off from rivers and streams so the plague can't reach them. In 2006 an RSPCA officer found a large crayfish in a drain, and took it to the nearby internationally-recognized crayfish reserve, and dropped it in. It was, in fact, a Signal crayfish, and the moron had just put the cat in amongst the pigeons. The RSPCA faced prosecution under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, and dispatched divers to locate and retrieve the Signal, but it was never found. Luckily, the entire population of native crayfish didn't die of crayfish plague, so hopefully the Signal crayfish was so freaked out by being manhandled that it crawled straight back out again... but the reserve has been compromised and only time will tell.


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## connor 1213 (Apr 6, 2009)

so if you catch a crayfish u have to kill it??????????????????????????????????


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

JAB

Nice post,ty.


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## Cranwelli (Mar 24, 2009)

Good old Gunnar Svardson or whatever his name is.


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## sean k (Dec 20, 2007)

*american crayfish*

i know when you catch america crayfish they have red claws sometimes you have to kill them straight away as they are non native and can kill native animals, such as young amphibians/tadpoles, ect. i know of a fishing lake where they was introduced years ago and the man tells every one that they have to kill the crayfish, but i give them to a local lady as she keeps them in her pond. lol. also a lot of people eat crayfish?

there is one type of crayfish which i think is native, but it is a protected species i think its called a white crayfish?? im not to sure though so some one correct me if im wrong. lol lol


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## bothrops (Jan 7, 2007)

sean k said:


> i know when you catch america crayfish they have red claws sometimes you have to kill them straight away as they are non native and can kill native animals, such as young amphibians/tadpoles, ect. i know of a fishing lake where they was introduced years ago and the man tells every one that they have to kill the crayfish, but i give them to a local lady as she keeps them in her pond. lol. also a lot of people eat crayfish?
> 
> there is one type of crayfish which i think is native, but it is a protected species i think its called a white crayfish?? im not to sure though so some one correct me if im wrong. lol lol


Sorry mate, but did you actually read the thread?

Firstly it is illegal to 'put them in someones pond' unless they are 100% contained as they can AND DO move out from standing bodies of water.

Secondly, we don't need to 'correct you if your wrong' because all the details have already been posted in the thread!:whip::bash:



A classic 'oblivipost'!*

Cheers

Andy


* see link in sig!


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## sean k (Dec 20, 2007)

bothrops said:


> Sorry mate, but did you actually read the thread?
> 
> Firstly it is illegal to 'put them in someones pond' unless they are 100% contained as they can AND DO move out from standing bodies of water.
> 
> ...


im not stupid m8 i would not just go round throwing them in some ones pond for them to climb back out!!, its made from concrete and is about 3 foot off the floor, and i doubt a crayfish is going to be able to climb vertical up a wall?????? it has no fish in it and she had it built for the crayfish as she did not like them all being killed for know reason, and she keeps them as pets.

and for a ('oblivipost'!*) i didnt read all through the pages apon pages of writing i just posted an opinion and something i did when i found some crayfish.....


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## Reptile-newb (Jul 13, 2009)

It seems there is a certain misconception that you cannot keep signal crayfish without a licence in the UK.

You can, if you live in any of the areas at the bottom of this form.
http://www.efishbusiness.co.uk/formsandguides/cray2.pdf


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## bothrops (Jan 7, 2007)

sean k said:


> im not stupid m8 i would not just go round throwing them in some ones pond for them to climb back out!!, its made from concrete and is about 3 foot off the floor, and i doubt a crayfish is going to be able to climb vertical up a wall?????? it has no fish in it and she had it built for the crayfish as she did not like them all being killed for know reason, and she keeps them as pets.
> 
> and for a ('oblivipost'!*) i didnt read all through the pages apon pages of writing i just posted an opinion and something i did when i found some crayfish.....


I would say that crayfish probably could climb up vertical walls, but still, fair enough, if they are contained then meh...who am I to have issue with it.

On the other point though, I guess that's my whole point. Lots of people have put good quality info on the thread and I don't see why some folks do not read the whole thread and post anyway. Surely the point is to read through and then, if you feel you can ADD SOMETHING MORE you do so?

Still as I said...meh...


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## daftlassieEmma (Oct 23, 2008)

JAB that was a really good informative post, cheers : victory:


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## TroJon (Aug 20, 2009)

Not sure if already posted, one species is protected (native) and the other is meant to be caught and killed- i believe the american signal crayfish.


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## Ferret1959 (Jul 16, 2008)

TroJon said:


> Not sure if already posted, one species is protected (native) and the other is meant to be caught and killed- i believe the american signal crayfish.



If you read the thread you will see it has already been posted.


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## Mirf (May 22, 2008)

.D.o.m.i.n.o. said:


> Theres a pond in walking/driving distance to where i live,


Apologies for dragging up an old post, but what pond did you find them in?
Do you know the name of it, as I am only up the road and would be interested in having a look as I've never actually seen a signal crayfish..


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## Mirf (May 22, 2008)

Sorry, double post...


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

here where i live crawdads(crayfish) are everywhere... i mean everywhere...

... the tiniest stream anywhere... in the big cities... it doesn't matter..

crawdads are they single most common thing there is here...

i might believe there are more crawdads than flies!!!: victory:


we used to get a big slice of bacon on a fish hook and catch 20 or more at a time!

... you couldn't wipe them out if you wanted to!:lol2:

we don't eat them here though..:gasp:


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## Mirf (May 22, 2008)

HABU said:


> we don't eat them here though..:gasp:


Any particular reason why not? Free food and all...


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## MJ75 (Feb 5, 2009)

Mirf said:


> Any particular reason why not? Free food and all...


You can catch, kill and eat american sinal crayfish in the UK. Though it's my understanding that you need a permit to remove the signal crayfish. I believe these are issued through DEFRA and are free?

I believe it is illegal to remove the native species? You can buy suitable traps from a few sellers on fleabay......

So long as you are taking the invasive species you're doing the environment a favour by killing them.

Pret a mange do tasty crayfish sandwiches.


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