Crayfish

[RobSutton]

I don't know if anyone caught the Countryfile bit on White-clawed Crayfish in the Yorkshire Dales on 6th Feb. As part of the work that is being done there, there is a captive breeding programme and as part of that an educational initiative where a few aquaria have been set up in schools and similar places to try and get the conservation message across to the kids in the area.

One of those aquaria has a very unusual blue coloured form of the White-clawed Crayfish.



The project seems to have been very successful both in educational terms and in being able to breed the crayfish in captivity. This one is a juvenile about 8 months old. They are managing a 50% plus juvenile survival rate which is quite remarkable.



There is some talk of Ark sites - clean streams where they can be released and should the day come when the Signal Crayfish and crayfish plague problems are sorted out in affected catchments it might be possible to reintroduce them back into some of their former haunts - but it's very early days yet.

[Ian Gray]

yeah mate, I remember that one. Put a smile on my face. No one had successfully bread them in captivity before, yet this time they wasn't even trying From what I can remember they had rescued them from the invasion of Signals, threw them all in big tanks together and they just got on with it. Ain't nature BRILLIANT Thanks for the update.

Ian

[Ian Gray]

sorry, forgot to mention that you have a couple of cracking images there. Really like the second one. Nice one Rob.

Ian

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by Ian Gray

yeah mate, I remember that one. Put a smile on my face. No one had successfully bread them in captivity before, yet this time they wasn't even trying From what I can remember they had rescued them from the invasion of Signals, threw them all in big tanks together and they just got on with it. Ain't nature BRILLIANT Thanks for the update.

Ian

Yes - it makes you wonder why other people haven't been successful in breeding them.

Originally Posted by Ian Gray

sorry, forgot to mention that you have a couple of cracking images there. Really like the second one. Nice one Rob.

Ian

Thanks Ian - We have one of the "display" tanks where I work (hence the photos) and they attract a lot of attention. The blue one is a particular favourite - I must try and get a better photo of it.

[serendipity]

I remember paddling in the Itchen and the little streams running into and off it and finding these under nearly every boulder and in every discarded drinks can! sometimes there was more than one even in the cans! (I found up to 5). some were adult and way to big to get out I guess they made it home and had no need to get out and if they decided they wanted to they had grown to large and were stuck!

[RobSutton]

Originally Posted by serendipity

I remember paddling in the Itchen and the little streams running into and off it and finding these under nearly every boulder and in every discarded drinks can! sometimes there was more than one even in the cans! (I found up to 5). some were adult and way to big to get out I guess they made it home and had no need to get out and if they decided they wanted to they had grown to large and were stuck!

Canned Crayfish now there's an idea. As a youngster in the Midlands I remember finding them under nearly all the rocks in a little stream on Cannock Chase and when they took the the Water Ski ramps up for maintenance at Chasewater Reservoir there were thousands of them clinging to the structures. How times change.