Latest news with #crayfish
BBC News
3 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Rare white-clawed crayfish rescued from drying beck in Bradford
A previously unknown population of critically endangered crayfish has been rescued from a drying watercourse in West Davies, from Burley in Wharfedale, alerted the Environment Agency (EA) after spotting the native white-clawed crayfish struggling in a section of a nearby beck, affected by ongoing drought conditions.A total of 32 adults, including 21 egg-carrying females, were successfully relocated to a licensed quarantine facility, where they will undergo health Davies told the BBC: "I love the fact that they were saved and hopefully can be used to potentially introduce them into other areas where they would have been found before but have now been wiped out." The crayfish were rescued by the EA's fisheries team by hand - a difficult job as the crustaceans often hide under rocks or bury into the rescued crayfish have been moved to the EA's facility hosted by York Gate Gardens near Leeds, until they pass a health agency hopes to return them to their original habitat once water levels stabilise. Periods of dry weather and low rivers can have serious consequences for the environment and wildlife, the agency said."Rivers that usually flow with water have become a disconnected series of pools, and those pools have become isolated then wildlife can't move as freely within the water as they are used to," said manager Martin Christmas."We've had two or three heat waves and that's meant that the water temperature is a lot warmer than it usually is and warm water doesn't dissolve oxygen as well as cooler water. "So we've seen a number of examples where fish have got into trouble because there's a lack of oxygen in the water." According to the EA, white-clawed crayfish are the UK's only native freshwater play a vital role in keeping waterways clean and as a source of food for other native species used to be common across Yorkshire but is now critically endangered, largely due to being out-competed by the larger, more aggressive American signal who sees fish or wildlife in distress is asked to contact the agency. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
RNZ News
15-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Queenstown hotel fined $22,000 for breaches under Fisheries Act
The hotel had been offering 'The Rees Ultimate Heli Crayfish dining experience' to guests which included the illegal sale of recreationally caught crayfish. File picture. Photo: Malcolm Francis A Queenstown hotel has been fined $22,000 for illegally selling recreationally caught crayfish and failing to keep records. The Rees Management Limited, which trades as The Rees Hotel, was sentenced in the Queenstown District Court on Monday for charges under the Fisheries Act and Fisheries (Record keeping) Regulations. The hotel had been offering 'The Rees Ultimate Heli Crayfish dining experience' to guests which included the illegal sale of recreationally caught crayfish. Guests were invoiced between $4650 and $7750 for the total day's experience. Fisheries New Zealand regional manager south Garreth Jay said under the Fisheries Act, a commercial fishing permit is required to take any fish for sale. Any use of seafood as part of a business' commercial activities is considered sale under the Act. "The rules are there for a reason - to safeguard the resource for current and future generations, protect the integrity of the fisheries management system, and ensure a level playing field for businesses' using seafood as part of their commercial activities," Jay said. "In this case it is our view the offending persisted despite clear advice being given to the operators involved that the helicopter experience package did not comply with the Fisheries Act." The hotel also did not keep required records of the crayfish making it difficult to quantify the scale of the offending, Jay said. "We all have a role to play in ensuring the ongoing sustainability of our fisheries. We encourage people to report suspected illegal activity through our free-calling 0800 4 POACHER number (0800 47 62 24)," he said. Fisheries New Zealand is also prosecuting another business in relation to the offending, with the matter still before the courts. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
BBC News
27-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal's illegal crayfish traps removed
Several illegal crayfish traps which could have been dangerous to other wildlife have been removed from a canal by Agency Midlands said the seven unauthorised traps were removed from the Birmingham and Fazeley canal after a tip-off and added: "These traps catch not only fish and crayfish but other wildlife such as water voles."The UK's native crayfish, also known as white-clawed crayfish, and water voles are protected UK species is under threat due after the spread of the invasive North American signal crayfish, the BBC has previously reported. Government regulations on crayfish trapping say people must not trap or remove native and non-native crayfish in England without written permission from the Environment agency did not say where on the canal the traps were removed. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
CBC
07-06-2025
- Science
- CBC
2 new species of crayfish identified in Pacific Northwest — and they're already at risk
Social Sharing Two new species of crayfish have been identified in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, and researchers say both species are vulnerable to extinction. One of those crayfish is called the "misfortunate crayfish," found primarily in central Oregon, according to biologist Eric Larson. The other, the Okanagan crayfish, is found in, well, B.C.'s Okanagan Lake. Both were previously mistaken for the signal crayfish, the most common species of crayfish on the West Coast, Larson said. "They are brand new species. It's the first time anyone has called this animal the Okanagan crayfish," Larson told CBC's Daybreak South host Chris Walker. The easiest way to differentiate the signal variety from the other two is a distinctive white mark on the signal crayfish's claw. "If you find that absent or really reduced, that might suggest you're looking at the Okanagan crayfish," Larson said. Eric Taylor, a professor of zoology at the University of British Columbia, said it's important to identify different species, even if they appear very similar, for several reasons. "There's sort of an inherent value in knowing," he said. "Humans like to know about the world around us, which includes the natural world, so it's important for an accurate understanding of the level of biodiversity we have." Additionally, it helps researchers better understand the ecosystem in which these species live. Thirdly, identifying individual species gives conservationists an idea of how widespread the species is. For example, Taylor said, there could be a stronger effort to protect a species if it's only found in one small area, as opposed to across a region. At risk of extinction Okanagan and misfortunate crayfish are already considered at risk of extinction, according to Larson. Taylor said this is no surprise, given that these are smaller groups of what was once thought to be a larger population. "The smaller an area an animal or plant lives in, the greater the chance that if something bad happens, it's going to go extinct," he said. The Okanagan crayfish is of particular concern, Taylor said, because it's located in Okanagan Lake — an area of "high human impact." Larson hopes the situation will inspire conservation action. "Crayfish don't get along that well," he said. "We have moved crayfish around for centuries," Larson added, pointing to stocking lakes with crayfish, using them as bait and even classrooms releasing them into the wild. They can also catch a ride to a new location on boats, similar to invasive mussels. Larson said that, in particular, scientists worry Okanagan crayfish will be displaced by invasive virile crayfish, while misfortunate crayfish could disappear due to invasive rusty crayfish. That's a much bigger risk for the misfortunate crayfish in Oregon that has the rusty crayfish from eastern North America spreading really rapidly in its native range. But for the Okanagan crayfish, we kind of wanted to discourage movement of other crayfish into its populations. Not only can invasive species be harmful to those native to the Pacific Northwest, they also feed on fish eggs and destroy aquatic plants, Larson said, as well as damage infrastructure like irrigation canals and dams. Invasive crayfish can also carry disease, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Ban on taking crayfish from Northland's east coast on the cards
Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says a ban on taking crayfish from Northland's east coast is on the cards as warnings grow about the species' "perilous" decline. Jones said consultation on the proposal would start soon and would be controversial. The details were still being worked out, but it would likely entail a closure from a point south of Mangawhai to the Muriwhenua area at the top of the Far North. The ban would apply to both recreational and commercial fishers. "I know that closing down crayfish over the Christmas holiday period will be quite a controversial decision, so the engagement is going to be very, very tricky," Jones said. "The challenge will be, if recreational users are denied crayfish as it recovers, then should similar rules apply to tangata whenua through the kaimoana permit system that was agreed to in the Sealord settlement in 1992? I've already attracted quite a lot of adverse commentary from Northlanders about this, but it's a trade off … The resource genuinely is under extreme stress." Crayfish could be off the menu on Northand's east coast this summer as the population plummets. Photo: Supplied The minister said measures to protect the species were necessary both because of "legally adverse" decisions against the Crown, and the dire state of the crayfish population. "The scientists have advised me that it's in a perilous state, and despite my status as an industrial champion of the fishing industry, it does get perilous if we're not following the best scientific advice. But I accept that for a lot of holiday makers and a lot of stakeholders in Northland, it will be a significant change," he said. "These decisions are not for the faint hearted, but sometimes you've got to act and make very harsh calls, and I fear this may be one of them." The inner Hauraki Gulf , just south of the proposed new ban, had already been closed to crayfish harvesting for a period of three years starting from 1 April this year. Jones said local concerns about declining crayfish numbers in the Hauraki Gulf had been backed up by independent research. "A number of recreational stakeholders are fearful that closure will never, ever be removed, but the scientists continually tell me that things are perilous." Jones said the ban would apply to red crayfish, also known as spiny rock lobsters, the species best known to Northlanders. It would not apply to the packhorse cray because its population was not as threatened. It would also not include Northland's west coast, where most commercial crayfish harvesting took place. The "legally adverse decisions" Jones referred to include a High Court ruling in February this year on the government's revised quota management plan for crayfish in Northland. The court found the plan did not do enough to address "an urgent marine crisis" unfolding off the region's east coast. Photo: EnviroStrat_ Kinamonics Jones has also embarked on law changes to encourage increased harvesting of kina, or sea urchins. Kina are an important food source for crayfish and large snapper, but the predators' decline has led to an explosion in kina populations. That has caused the proliferation of "kina barrens", effectively underwater deserts where large numbers of kina have stripped away anything edible and reduced the seabed to bare rock. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
