Illegal Crayfish In The Uk

[Shrimper]

I have been looking round the DEFRA website and have managed to find the following page:
Application for a licence to keep non-native crayfish

Amazingly with a name like that it is an application form for for a licence to keep non-native crayfish in England (Scotland and Wales have seperate agencys that deal with this). I was wondering if anybody on the forum had one of these licences or had applied for one and been turned down?

Intrestingly it also has a list of areas in England where it is not illegal to keep the signal crayfish due to the existing wild populations being large. Unfortunatly i don't live in one of these areas

 

[shroob]

About a year ago, a relative found a pond with lots of signals in. We knew we had to get a licence from DEFRA to take them out, we inquired got all the leaflets and pamphlets but in the end the amount of paperwork and the procedures we had to do got too much, and we left it at that.

I too live in an area where you can't just take them, even though they are quite prolific where I am. It says on the link provided that some parts of Leicester (LE16) don't need a licence, seems abit strange that only 1 post code is allowed to, but thats just the way things are I suppose.

 

[Shrimper]

About a year ago, a relative found a pond with lots of signals in. We knew we had to get a licence from DEFRA to take them out, we inquired got all the leaflets and pamphlets but in the end the amount of paperwork and the procedures we had to do got too much, and we left it at that.

I too live in an area where you can't just take them, even though they are quite prolific where I am. It says on the link provided that some parts of Leicester (LE16) don't need a licence, seems abit strange that only 1 post code is allowed to, but thats just the way things are I suppose.

I looked up LE16 and its the other side of the county to me unfortunatly (Market Harborough if your local and intrested)

If they are as agressive at spreading as the rumours say they are then they will probably get into my area eventually, the canal links Market Harborough and Leicester so it is definatly possible for them to get here.

 

[raptorrex]

<a href="http/www.defra.gov.uk/fish/freshwater/pdf/licreq.pdf" target="_blank">http/www.defra.gov.uk/fish/freshwater/pdf/licreq.pdf</a>
try this.

as for applying for a license, as yet i have to hear of one ever being given. people often forget, when applying, that you need to show you can sterilise the resulting wast to EU standards. quite apart from showing no cray could ever escape.
trapping is a different matter, you need permission from defra and the owner of the river bank you with to trap from, and possibly a fishing licence too

 

[Shrimper]

Just looked at your link, was this the one you meant to post? It is the same list of postcodes as the end of mine although the one for leicester seems to be a typo on your link. I have searched and there is no post code for LE160.

Its a shame licences aren't being granted, Do you know what sort of thing would you need to steralise the waste? I'm guessing your not supposed to pour the dirty water down the sink like i do for my normal tanks!

 

[raptorrex]

Just looked at your link, was this the one you meant to post? It is the same list of postcodes as the end of mine although the one for leicester seems to be a typo on your link. I have searched and there is no post code for LE160.

Its a shame licences aren't being granted, Do you know what sort of thing would you need to steralise the waste? I'm guessing your not supposed to pour the dirty water down the sink like i do for my normal tanks!

i think the area is LE16, not LE160, kinda makes sense from what i have heard.

truth is just leaving the equipment to dry is all you need to do, same for most nasties you can get in your tank. dont really know, but the waste is considered to be a "BIO hazard", as are the cray. not really sure you could do anythig that would make them give a license. we did have a menber at CM who was from DEFRA. couldnt get a thing out of him!!! lol so much for friends in the right places.

 

[Eclecticoldsod]

The British native crayfish is not as uncommon as may be thought. As with any endangered species, the public will never be told everywhere they can sill be found, only where they're still common, or can't be found at all - under age-old rules far outdating DEFRA. You can understand why....

 

[MHunt]

I think I saw on the F word that the pest signal crayfish was actually quite good for cooking. Nice to have a population control method that is beneficial for people too!

 

[raptorrex]

The British native crayfish is not as uncommon as may be thought. As with any endangered species, the public will never be told everywhere they can sill be found, only where they're still common, or can't be found at all - under age-old rules far outdating DEFRA. You can understand why....

with large swathes of the country being devoid of Whiteclaw cray, it is right to say it is truly in danger. there are small pockets of Whiteclaw, even in areas that are infested with Signals. even so these pockets are getting less and less each year. in some areas in the north of England, few if any signals are found. i was brought up in the Lake district, at this time the Whitclaw were the only cray in the UK, i am getting on you know. yet in all my young life i never saw one! and i did spend most of my free time playing and fishing in the many streams and rivers in the area. so even before the Signal they were far from common.

I think I saw on the F word that the pest signal crayfish was actually quite good for cooking. Nice to have a population control method that is beneficial for people too!

lol i am told they are, wouldn't touch one myself. any liquid in the cooked cray, could possibly contain the cray plague. though it has no effect on us, it is possible you could carry and pass on the fungus through your trips to the loo. though i guess a gumbo type dish my be worth a try. the other problem seems to be, when you remove, any larger, cray from its area. it allows, many smaller cray to move in. government figures have shown that trapping often causes the population to increase! sadly, at the moment, even destroying all the Signals would not herald the return of the Whiteclaw. the spores from Crayfish plague, can lay dormant for many many years. experiments in Europe to re introduce native cray after Signal infestation, have failed. the cray simply die from the plague