Bid to save captive-bred native crayfish species

Hundreds of captive-bred native crayfish will be released at a secret site in a bid to slow the decline in the species, according to the Environment Agency.

White clawed crayfish have been hit by the spread of the invasive American signal crayfish, which compete with the native crustacean for habitat and food and carry a “plague” or water-borne fungus that is fatal to the UK species.

The species is now endangered, and to prevent it dying out in UK waters the Environment Agency in Wales is breeding native crayfish at its fish hatchery near Brecon.

Last week hundreds were released at a secret site in Cornwall. And the Environment Agency is looking for new safe havens across the country where they can release them into the wild at sites where they will be safe from invasive signal crayfish and other threats such as fishing.

The move follows research that suggested white clawed crayfish would die out within around 20 years if conservationists did not intervene to save it.

Environment Agency Wales officer Oliver Brown said: “The juvenile crayfish in our breeding unit at Cynrig have thrived beyond all expectations. Our 75 per cent survival rate meant that we released a number of crayfish at a site in Wales last year to allow room for the others to grow.

“We are now searching for new havens across England and Wales for crayfish populations and hope to take our breeding programme further so that ultimately we can release more of this threatened species back into the wild.”

Conservationists are also launching a website which aims to serve as a “one-stop shop” for crayfish information for both professionals and members of the public.

Buglife’s crayfish conservation officer Kate O’Neill said: “Many organisations are making valiant efforts to save the white clawed crayfish, but coordinating these efforts at a national scale can be difficult.

“The new crayfish website also has information on how the public can get involved in conserving one of our largest freshwater invertebrates.”