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Has Anyone Caught Any Signal Crayfish Anywhere?


Capt.Golightly

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So, just wondering idly, out of acedemic interest you see, how might one humanely slaughter an american signal crayfish, should one find oneself in posession of one (by accident obviously)?

 

Dropping them alive into a pot of boiling water seems perversely cruel, dunnit?

 

 

MtB

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So, just wondering idly, out of acedemic interest you see, how might one humanely slaughter an american signal crayfish, should one find oneself in posession of one (by accident obviously)?

 

Dropping them alive into a pot of boiling water seems perversely cruel, dunnit?

 

 

MtB

 

So, just wondering idly, out of acedemic interest you see, how might one humanely slaughter an american signal crayfish, should one find oneself in posession of one (by accident obviously)?

 

Dropping them alive into a pot of boiling water seems perversely cruel, dunnit?

 

 

MtB

Mike, if you had one of the feisty critters grab hold of your finger, you might feel a little differently.

So I have been told of coarse!blink.png

Nipper

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I remember reading a thread on here some time back. You keep them in water for 24 hours so they have finished pooing and so taste better. Signal crayfish are sold in a landlocked south London market and go well in a seafood cocktail!

It has been said, somewhere, that if you take the tail off of a cooked one, you will see that it can be opened up by pulling the smaller piece of flesh downwards, this enables one to take the black looking intestine out as a whole!

Apparently this saves soaking them for days cutting out all the wait. Also soaking them in hot weather may kill them rather quickly and maybe render them uneatable, if one were to eat them maybe give you a bad tummy afterwards! sick.gif

 

I have also heard that tails kept in a fridge overnight go well piled on hot salted buttered toast in the morning!! biggrin.png

 

Nipper

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Having just read the link from the earlier post I feel one or two things have been missed.

 

First looking at the application form there didn't appear to be any request for a fee. Second you are not forced to fish only in one spot, the form says "(an upstream and downstream point if on a stretch of river)" which to me clearly allows fishing over a stretch of water.

 

The other requirements appear to be all based on either protecting other wildlife or preventing the spread of crayfish plague. Details of catch etc are probably a backhand way of assessing the situation with regard to population spread etc.

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Having just read the link from the earlier post I feel one or two things have been missed.

 

First looking at the application form there didn't appear to be any request for a fee. Second you are not forced to fish only in one spot, the form says "(an upstream and downstream point if on a stretch of river)" which to me clearly allows fishing over a stretch of water.

 

The other requirements appear to be all based on either protecting other wildlife or preventing the spread of crayfish plague. Details of catch etc are probably a backhand way of assessing the situation with regard to population spread etc.

I think you are right and they are free, well they use to be, the problem I found was the need to put down the riparian owner, has that bit been removed now?

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I think you are right and they are free, well they use to be, the problem I found was the need to put down the riparian owner, has that bit been removed now?

Having reread it there are 7 points

 

1. The applicant - your name address etc

2. The water - doesn't ask who owns it just for grid refs

3. About the task you plan to carry out - time e.g. March - Sept, why, how you will catch them e.g. net

4 Trap details - sizes apparently to see if they are otter/vole safe

5. Cray fish details - species to be caught

6. Signature and declaration

7. What happens next - what will happen about the granting (or not) of the permit

 

So it would appear they have dropped it.

  • Greenie 1
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Having reread it there are 7 points

 

1. The applicant - your name address etc

2. The water - doesn't ask who owns it just for grid refs

3. About the task you plan to carry out - time e.g. March - Sept, why, how you will catch them e.g. net

4 Trap details - sizes apparently to see if they are otter/vole safe

5. Cray fish details - species to be caught

6. Signature and declaration

7. What happens next - what will happen about the granting (or not) of the permit

 

So it would appear they have dropped it.

Ta, it was a few years ago when I looked into it, flogged the net in the end.

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Pikey Prawns sometimes climb up my plughole and live in the shower for a bit. A bit of salt in the water purges them faster for their afterlife as ravioli.

 

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Edited by oarfish
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haven't managed to catch any in the western K&A yet, although I gather they are common at the eastern end.

 

I have, however, caught two very large and tasty looking eels. Had to throw them back as I didn't have a suitable container to purge them in. I'll be getting myself a container next week, and doing a little research to identify which eel species is the endangered one.

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haven't managed to catch any in the western K&A yet, although I gather they are common at the eastern end.

 

I have, however, caught two very large and tasty looking eels. Had to throw them back as I didn't have a suitable container to purge them in. I'll be getting myself a container next week, and doing a little research to identify which eel species is the endangered one.

Freshwater eels - only one species Anguila Anguila, and it's in real peril. Best not to take any eels from any freshwater or even brackish water.

Edited by mark99
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Freshwater eels - only one species Anguila Anguila, and it's in real peril. Best not to take any eels from any freshwater or even brackish water.

I think I read they have had a bumper year for silver eel sales this year. I couldnt work it out.

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I caught one of those signal crayfish yesterday while fishing. Bloody thing took a lump of bread paste. It let go as it broke the surface thankfully. i wa son the Macclesfield by the way.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks to bobbybass for the environment agency link, the requirements don't seem too onerous and are mostly about the protection of other wildlife which is ok by me...reckon I'd use a dropnet anyway as I wouldn't want to drown a Vole or trap a native Crayfish in with his nemesis...

Edited by Capt.Golightly
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There are literally tonnes of them in The Lea & Stort. Apparently the most humane way to kill them is with a sharp pointed knife through the base of their head. You can either purge them in clean water (while alive) for 24 to 48 hours to clean out the intestine or dispatch them, and then fan out the tail, pinch the centre/top segment, twist and pull out the intestine in one piece.

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I had a license for the GU around MK to Blisworth. It is free. There was a consultation out about charges for various EA things but I think enough people pointed out the negative effects so they dropoed it.

How ti kill? If not to eat then a size 10 boot crushes them quite quickly.

The idea of purging in clean water does not work too well. Most of them die. Better to cook when fresh and remove black intestine after. Saute in garlic butter is my favorite methid.

None here on the Trent. Net for sale

Edited by jelunga
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  • 2 weeks later...

This is typical of the EA, they admit signal crayfish are pests(that's putting it mildly) yet they put all these barriers in the way of normal folk who want to catch them for the pot or whatever and in doing so would help to eradicate this menace. They do a tremendous amount of damage to our native crayfish and spawning fish.They should focus their efforts more on illegal fishing that is taking place on a wide scale.

 

I found this on the EA website. I think it gives a few pointers on why they restrict trapping through licencing.

At present there is no method to eradicate signal crayfish, even by trapping and removing them! Trapping programmes often remove large male crayfish and leave the female and young crayfish in the water. Females and young crayfish would normally be predated by the large male crayfish and therefore by trapping the males may be allowing a larger population to develop over time.

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On a club water I fished (River Kennet) they are trapped and a log kept. Before trapping, the fishing was terrible - the little critters grabbed anything used as bait.

 

Last time I checked they had took out nearly 30,000 and numbers declined and the trapper was having a hard time trapping significant numbers and fishermen didn't get pestererd by them. IIRC they were taken down to a Seaworld type place somewhere to feed the seals.

Edited by mark99
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