Signal Crayfish

[doorframe]

Hi guys....I've done no research, and have no authority on the subject, but just to say, that the nippers have been prevaillent for at least 15 years on the R. Lee. As a keen pike angler, I've hauled them out on the end of my smelt on so many occasions, and up to close on 1 foot in length, for years now and at the same time noticing a serious decline in the number of indiginous creatures. They're nothing new, and I suspect they're here to stay. Damn shame!

[snapper35]

Had 3 out of the Waveney by hand yesterday. Very tasty. Some huge great ones seen too. Must get a licence and some traps, go well with the prawns and crab I netted in the sea today.

Not killing tomorrow - blackberries and bullaces to be gathered instead.

[Signal Slurper]

Three !?!?!?

A week ago I baited a single trap with a fresh trout and left it for 4 hours in a remote part of the Basingstoke canal . . . and caught 17, all of a good size too!

This isn't a "one up manship" quote - but to re-iterate to anyone thinking that this practice is just for "personal pleasure", that the Heaven's Kitchen and the FWord TV programs statement is true. This is an infestation ! And the Crayfish are effectively alien vermin !

I saw an earlier posting from a member stating that people "don't know enough about the ecology" of these creatures to ensure we aren't doing more damage than good. Whilst I completely understand the reasoning behind this, I would say that, having spent some time on the net researching - the ecology changes as to where the crays are. Their preference is for places with a rocky / submerged log style substrate for them to hide under - if they are not in this environment, they burrrow ! Which is fine for one or two per mile of waterway - but with at least 17 in a single small area of a canal . . . the banks will soon be honeycombed and only thing holding the banks up will be tree roots soon!

Signals grow at an alarming rate - eat fish eggs - burrow into the banks - carry the crayfish "plague" (Aphanomyces astaci) - out compete the smaller native crayfish - and are (obviously) reproducing at great speed. If the only thing that will slow this invasion down is trapping - then so be it !
(BUT DO GET A LICENSE ! THEY ARE FREE AND WILL ENSURE YOU ARE NOT IN AN AREA WHERE YOU COULD HURT ENDANGERED SPECIES!)

This problem is getting so bad that Universities are working on chemicals which will kill them or at least stop them breeding (which I for one will never believe that they ONLY effect one type of waterlife!).


Slurper

[Dan Salter]

[quote=Signal Slurper]Three !?!?!?


Yes but the guy before you caught 3 by hand it seems not in a trap !

[snapper35]

Indeed Dan. First go, with very little space to work in and from a kayak with my nephew at my feet.....

[Rush]

Where around Bristol can crayfish be found?

[nealey]

Can anyone tell me where there are any hot spots around Loughborough, Shepshed & Coalville areas ??
Cheers.

[Waterhorse]

I'll bet if you go to your local canal you'll find them, they are here in Macclesfield in their droves but not according to the Biodiversity Map. We catch them as you would crabs with bacon and a line. We havent eaten any yet to be honest, they look so unappetizing. I have eaten my own hens and geese and lambs but cant get excited about these ugly little devils.

[tamesoldier]

I've just had a load of signal crays and when i was extracting the meat, i found a lot of them had something very long and stringy( white) in the head part. I don't know if this is an organ or a worm.

Can anybody shed any light

Appretiated

Tamesoldier

[Jamieb]

Hi guys, I'm a newbie here...

My son and I regularly trap signals in Northamptonshire, they are an absolute menace. In the 2 years that we have been trapping we have seen a massive depletion in both flora and fauna around the river banks where we trap the little blighters. In response to all the people who talk about species identification i would say this, once you see Signals you will not....and i repeat (in capitals to make it clearer) WILL NOT see any indegenous crays. I have no licence to trap ( i run a string of 10 pots left in the river for 24 hours at a time) but I have the blessings of the local landowner, who as a keen fisherman has seen a massive drop in the amount of fish caught by the anglers.
Signals are killing our waterways, we need to kill the signals......

[lunny]

Hi im living in kettering Northamton, Can anyone tell me, is there anywhere near this area to catch crawfish. I am from Ireland so I dont no the area that well.
cheers.

[clackdish]

anyone know of any spots around the middlesbrough/cleveland area, am applying for a licence from the EA

[lunny]

do you know how to get the licsence and how much it costs.
cheers.

[Jenny W]

Originally Posted by lunny

do you know how to get the licsence and how much it costs.
cheers.

Hi lunny,

I'm pretty sure you get it from the Environment Agency and I think they are free. I read somewhere that Signal's are sort of classed as 'fish' and therefore come under 'fishing' rules and regulations so the licence is just like a normal rod licence you would get if you were fishing. I could be wrong there though and as Picidae says it's important that trappers can tell the difference between our natives and Signal's so this could be the reason behind the licences.

I think you would also be restricted on the size of trap you can use if there are Otters present in the area you are trapping - not sure of the details of that though.

Contact the EA though, they will be able to answer all your questions.

[FungiJus]

Hi All,

There has been loads written on this thread already and all the answers are here if you look back (note that you don't have to look too far back to find the sound advice from Picidae with links to the EA etc ).

Anyway - I have been trapping for a couple of years now, having received my EA licence and have taken a couple of hundred signals out of the Ouzel in Milton Keynes (not enough to make any real impact on numbers I'm afraid).

Good reasons for applying for a license are:

• The EA can check the area you are planning to set traps for reported water vole populations (they are prone to being trapped as by-catch).
• They also receive data (from license holders as part of the trapping agreement) of numbers caught and locations.
• There is an information pack that comes with the licence with a laminated guide to all the species of crayfish that are found in British waters (not all native of course).
• The information also includes details of the bye-laws regulating the size of trap and crucially the size of aperture to the net used - thus ensuring that responsible trappers are not in danger of catching (and drowing) otters - how bad would you feel if this happened? I have seen a photo of a dead otter in a trap exactly the same as the one I use - difference is that I have an otter guard of the requisite dimensions on each end.
• The EA know where reports of native (protected) crayfish still are - locations getting fewer and farther between I'm afraid - and will advise if they need to refuse a license based on this localised population.
• The information sent even includes advice on how to catch the signals!

My advice would be to get the forms, give the EA a ring if needs be and take advice from them. I did and I had no problems with the application.

Best of luck.
J.

P.S. - I don't work for the EA!

[Frankie-prawn]

Originally Posted by Jamieb

Hi guys, I'm a newbie here...

My son and I regularly trap signals in Northamptonshire, they are an absolute menace. In the 2 years that we have been trapping we have seen a massive depletion in both flora and fauna around the river banks where we trap the little blighters. In response to all the people who talk about species identification i would say this, once you see Signals you will not....and i repeat (in capitals to make it clearer) WILL NOT see any indegenous crays. I have no licence to trap ( i run a string of 10 pots left in the river for 24 hours at a time) but I have the blessings of the local landowner, who as a keen fisherman has seen a massive drop in the amount of fish caught by the anglers.
Signals are killing our waterways, we need to kill the signals......

I agree with most things you say, ie Signal Crayfish do lots of damage to fish stocks, bank sides, and our native white claw Crayfish, I have been a commercial eel fisherman for many years, I have also trapped Signal Crays for Angling clubs etc. The EA should and do allow trapping in a lot of areas and especially your area Northants, therefore licences would be given to you on application and cost NOTHING A few years ago I was on the river emptying my traps when I was called to the bank by EA Bailiffs,(I was in my boat) there were 4 of them and an Alsation Dog, also one in a boat in case I did a runner, I had £2000 worth of Fykes seized also they were taking me to Court because my licence tags were not on the nets, so I was also looking at a large fine, I felt sick, Luckily I did have licences but due to nets going missing I wasn't attaching them, after months of wrangling with the EA they dropped the case and returned all my gear, other people I know have been fined thousands and lost there gear even vehicles have been seized, I promise you some do gooder will see you and report you, next thing they will be there when you are pulling up your traps, and if you are putting strings of 10 out they will (Right or Wrong) assume you are doing it for financial gain, Jamie dont leave it to chance mate get licences as I say they are FREE I just ask for 100 and get them, so there is no problem, also hopefully others will follow suit, If enough apply for licences hopefully the EA will make it legal to catch Signals without any burocracy or daft Rules

In everyone elses interest some areas are classed as red zones and you will not get licences as they still have populations of our white claw Crayfish, the EA will give you all the information maps etc. in the Cray fish pack,

Regards Frankie1

[handyman]

Hullo FrankiePrawn and welcome.

I think you will find that no matter how clearly and how often you tell people on this site about how to apply for a TRAPPING licence for signal crayfish, they will insist on flouting the Local Water Bye Laws.

They seem to think it is an inconvenience to apply for the correct licence and get some advice, even though it is FREE from the EA. Application for the licence is neither long-winded nor onerous, as the majority of staff at the EA are on our side and they will try hard to help speed the process through. The EA are trying to protect our indiginous species, but it only takes a few pratts who cannot be bothered to abide by the rules that are there to protect our flora and fauna, to either create new problems or unravel a lot of good work being done by more conscientious people.

If unlicenced people get caught and fined it is sometimes the only way they will learn. Good luck to them!


Handyman

[Frankie-prawn]

Originally Posted by handyman

Hullo FrankiePrawn and welcome.

I think you will find that no matter how clearly and how often you tell people on this site about how to apply for a TRAPPING licence for signal crayfish, they will insist on flouting the Local Water Bye Laws.

They seem to think it is an inconvenience to apply for the correct licence and get some advice, even though it is FREE from the EA. Application for the licence is neither long-winded nor onerous, as the majority of staff at the EA are on our side and they will try hard to help speed the process through. The EA are trying to protect our indiginous species, but it only takes a few pratts who cannot be bothered to abide by the rules that are there to protect our flora and fauna, to either create new problems or unravel a lot of good work being done by more conscientious people.

If unlicenced people get caught and fined it is sometimes the only way they will learn. Good luck to them!


Handyman

Hi There Handyman

Thanks for your reply, I have had licences even for Red Zones as the jobs I do are classed as Fisheries Management and every none native Crayfish is removed for dispatch (or food) I live in Cheshire and this is a red zone, a lot of people dont realize that you dont only need licences to trap Signals but if you live in certain Post Codes (usualy North of the Midlands) you need a licence to keep / retain live None native Crayfish. People who dont apply for licences to trap are shooting themselves and all those around them in the feet, If the EA get thousands of aplications every year they will simply de-classify the areas where the Signal has taken over and say it is legal to trap there without a licence as it wont be cost effective to control something that is allready out of control, But even so as you say some just dont learn untill they are caught. The EA bailiffs love to catch poachers and the like because they think of them as criminals, also sometimes they put in a lot of time to catch them
The other way the EA can go is to simply Ban Crayfish trapping altogether due to people not applying for licences and that would be a shame for all the ones doing it right and the environment

Regards Frankie1

[bigrobbie]

Hi there im a newbie to the site but have been reading through the posts and the amount of people who dont want to take the advice ie from handyman ref the licence. I applied for mine online at efishbusiness and it was granted to me within 72 hours. I then approched the local water way (basingstoke canal) and permission was granted within 3 hours so the whole thing has been so easy to deal with. The crayfish taste great friends and family are quite happy to taste test for me lol. So people please please do it the right way apply for the licence it is that easy.

[handyman]

Hullo BigRobbie, welcome and thanks for the acknowledgement, but I think FrankiePrawn also needs a pat on the back for giving sound advice here too. I just hope the less conscientious readers of this forum can follow your example and take a little simple advice.
It seems nowadays, everybody knows best and follows their own opinions rather than be guided. Sometimes we are all a bit too big-headed for our own good.
I donot earn my living from fishing but I know it is important to follow rules so that people like Frankie can help maintain our waterways and earn a livelihood. I just like to eat fish!!

I like to see you are testing your catches on your family. I now have quite a few different recipes for serving crayfish.

Handyman, IKBA

[Frankie-prawn]

Hello again to Big Robbie and Handyman, Signal Crayfish make wonderfull eating as long as they are prepared and cooked properly. You may or may not know the Swedish people have Crayfish Parties, they cook lots of Crayfish and I mean lots allowing around 1 Kilo per person and sit around a big table with beer and wine and of course Crayfish, they leave them whole and have a good old shin dig getting messy cracking open there Crays and getting drunk,

It is always better to purge Crays first leaving them alive in fresh water (with no food) for up to 7 days to get rid of the contents of there intestines, or you should remove the intestinal tract before eating otherwise you are eating what they are digesting.

A good Swedish recipe is this you will need a large stock pot or stainless bucket to cook them in half full of water, two to three kilos of Crayfish, six ounces of salt (pref sea salt) Six ounces of sugar, and a lot fresh Dill, three or four good handfulls should be OK but more if you like

Bring the water to the boil with the salt sugar and dill leave to boil for about five minutes to infuse, now tip in your purged Crayfish and some more dill if you can the water will stop boiling the crayfish will die and go red almost imediately, wait for it to come back to the boil and cook only for three minutes, now remove from the heat and put the stock pot or bucket and its contents into a sink of cold water to stop the cooking process, you may have to refresh the water in the sink as it will get warm, leave to completely cool.

Now comes the hard bit as you will want to eat them , you must leave them in the pot or bucket of water, sugar, salt and dill you cooked them in for at least 24 hours (48 is better) in a fridge or cover them and leave them somewhere cold, now you pile them up on big plates and let everyone get stuck in, the juice gets everywhere so bibs are in order and lotsa booze, these are absolutely delicious they are moist tasty and well worth the effort.

Let me know how you all get on

Regards Frankie-Prawn

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by notbrazil

Maybe I need a license to do this but who cares? There were literally hundreds upon hundreds.

I think there are by-laws in place governing crayfish fishing to protect white claws (since 2005 you need a licence to trap non-natives). However, this only applies to 'trapping' and 'removing' - As regards advocating other ways of removing non native crayfish, my concern would be people may not be able to identify them properly and we'll have lots of 'good-minded' individuals removing any crayfish they see from the river beds thinking they are helping the environment. Traps also trap non target species so guess this is why you'd need the regulating licence.

http://www.efishbusiness.co.uk/forms...needtoknow.pdf

http://www.efishbusiness.co.uk/forms...needtoknow.pdf

Did anyone see that cookery programme a few days ago, only caught the tail end of it on someone else's TV so don't know who it was/what channel - the guy was taking Signal fish and cooking them - he actually said you 'need a licence' - he was using a trap.

Oh .. this was the recipe and the same guy (using Signals he caught in a pot)
.. he got the hazlenuts from a tree while he was out!
BBC - Food - Recipes: Crayfish with hazelnut and pastis butter