Crayfish

The red swamp crayfish is native to Louisiana. The crayfish have been introduced in many countries, like China and Spain. The drawback is that the crayfish have escaped on a large scale and spread to the environment and has even become a pest in Europe and China.

Crayfish are mainly caught with fykesfykes:
A fishing technique where fish are attracted into a fyke. Fykes are pots or traps made of, for example, wire mesh., [pots and traps] or by hand. These methods are selective and do not damage the habitat.

The invasiveInvasive:
Invasive species is a biological term indicating a species that has located outside its natural range. crayfish are a pest and could maybe be controlled by a well managed fishery. In Spain there is a large industry that keeps the crayfish at bay, and strict regulations make management of the local crayfish population possible.

The red swamp crayfish is native to Louisiana. More than 95% of the total production from the USA is coming from there. Crayfish get their food from the natural environment in pond culture. This means that there is no need to give them feed from an external source and therefore there is minimal fertilization of the ponds. The farming of crayfish in the USA has barely damaging effects on the environment and can as such be deemed sustainable.

The red swamp crayfish is native to Louisiana. The crayfish have been introduced in many countries, like China and Spain. The drawback is that the crayfish have escaped on a large scale and spread to the environment and has even become a pest in Europe and China.

Crayfish are mainly caught with fykesfykes:
A fishing technique where fish are attracted into a fyke. Fykes are pots or traps made of, for example, wire mesh., [pots and traps] or by hand. These methods are selective and do not damage the habitat.

The invasiveInvasive:
Invasive species is a biological term indicating a species that has located outside its natural range. crayfish are a pest and could maybe be controlled by a well managed fishery. In the Netherlands management of crayfish could be better, however thanks to market demand the fishery on crayfish has been growing the past few years.

The red swamp crayfish is native to Louisiana. The crayfish have been introduced in many countries, like China and Spain, to farm and this was such an economic success that China has become the largest producer of crayfish worldwide. The drawback is that the crayfish have escaped on a large scale and spread to the environment and has even become a pest in Europe and China.

Crayfish often don’t need feeding in ponds because they can find the food themselves in the pond. The pond then only needs to be fertilized, so there is not wild-caught fish needed to let the crayfish grow, and that is sustainable. Currently however, additional food is sometimes used, which reduces the sustainability. Next to the escapes, the problem is that there is no or little data on the effect on the environment.