American Signal Crayfish

[Halibut 12]

Never heard of Minamata?

 

Yes, but I don't think it's an issue in the Rother or any other British water.

[Nagel 10]

Yes, but I don't think it's an issue in the Rother or any other British water.

 

 

I thought you wanted to know of any science to support the notion that eating fish from mucky waters will actually cause you harm?

[Halibut 12]

 

I thought you wanted to know of any science to support the notion that eating fish from mucky waters will actually cause you harm?

 

Yes - in the context of British rivers, as mentioned by Muldoon.

As far as i know no-ones been chucking high levels of mercury into the Rother.

[Nagel 10]

I caught crayfish in vast quantities as a kid on family holidays in the Yorkshire Dales which were always a great feast.

 

I went back a couple of years ago and the same muddy river bank was riddled with crayfish holes, so I thought I would catch them again, but never got round to it. You just need some keep nets and old fish heads tied in the bottom as bait.

 

It's a good thing I didn't.

 

Since then I saw in the news the case of someone prosecuted and fined £4000 for fishing for native crayfish in the Lake District!

[Muldoon 10]

Is there any science to support the notion that eating fish from mucky waters will actually cause you harm?

 

You would know the answer to that Halibut, being a bottom feeder !

[sheff 13 10]

Apparently there has been a u turn by the EA regarding licences for Cray nets. So I suppose it's down to the fishery owners if they are allowed.

[Scratch22 10]

that is not true shef 13, you still need written consent from the EA

[sheff 13 10]

I had a word with the chap the told me the licence had been dropped & according to him written consent is required, but that is not a licence.

The need for this consent is so that people do not use traps that are illegal in such a way as to trap creatures like Otters & other small mammals, the aperture of any traps needs to be of a certain size that he couldn't remember. Also to prevent trapping in the few rivers where the White Clawed Crays can still be found.

The licence was needed for any one who wished to catch crayfish to sell, that now is not required.

[Fisherperson 10]

Sheff13 we will have to stop meeting this way. Crayfish is one of the invasive species I was talking about.It is one of about half a dozen. I was at a meeting (one of many)Saturday last. It was about invasive species and as you can imagine Signal Crayfish was at the top of the list.Other things that were discussed were,otters, cormarants, seals etc. The state of play with the crayfish is this.

You do need a licence to trap crayfish

No licences are being issued

It is illegal to put Signal Crayfish back in a watercourse

It is not illegal to catch them on a rod and line

It all seems a bit bizarre,but nobody knows how to stop the spread of these things,people think its a good idea to harvest them.Wrong, the fish are cannibalistic so they just lay more eggs and grow again.The problem is they are just eating machines,fish,but not large fish,but of course large fish start of as small fish. Gammarus ,also known as the freshwater shrimp,Caddis both cased and caseless,tadpoles small frogs as you can see it is endless.They also are burrows which along with Balsam and Knotweed can cause silting up of water courses thus causing flooding. Fishermen need to report any sighting of tese creatures to the E.A or Councils, always clean and dry ALL equipment when finishing fishing. Its best to disinfect will virkon. I have put this on the forum because of the lack of education about these creatures so everyone can read it. If you need anymore info get in touch

Edited February 20, 2012 by Fisherperson
Presssed the wrong button

[sheff 13 10]

Sheff13 we will have to stop meeting this way. Crayfish is one of the invasive species I was talking about.It is one of about half a dozen. I was at a meeting (one of many)Saturday last. It was about invasive species and as you can imagine Signal Crayfish was at the top of the list.Other things that were discussed were,otters, cormarants, seals etc. The state of play with the crayfish is this.

You do need a licence to trap crayfish

No licences are being issued

It is illegal to put Signal Crayfish back in a watercourse

It is not illegal to catch them on a rod and line

It all seems a bit bizarre,but nobody knows how to stop the spread of these things,people think its a good idea to harvest them.Wrong, the fish are cannibalistic so they just lay more eggs and grow again.The problem is they are just eating machines,fish,but not large fish,but of course large fish start of as small fish. Gammarus ,also known as the freshwater shrimp,Caddis both cased and caseless,tadpoles small frogs as you can see it is endless.They also are burrows which along with Balsam and Knotweed can cause silting up of water courses thus causing flooding. Fishermen need to report any sighting of tese creatures to the E.A or Councils, always clean and dry ALL equipment when finishing fishing. Its best to disinfect will virkon. I have put this on the forum because of the lack of education about these creatures so everyone can read it. If you need anymore info get in touch

 

You're right mate we're starting to stalk each other, but a lot of the things you mention IE Knot weed, Himalayan Balsam & others I imagine, were introduced by the Victorians as ornamental plants,Signal Crayfish & Mink were introduced in more recent times by farmers.

The thing is I'm not saying these infiltrators shouldn't be controlled or even eradicated but that's not something that should be left to the likes us.

To finish off, have I understood rightly that the meeting you went to Saturday consider that the Otter is on the list as an invasive pest?

[Fisherperson 10]

The otter was discussed last Saturday because of its predatory habits on fish.Not as a alien specie,which of course its not. I agree with you on the introduction of the so called ornamental plants.They were introduced by the Victorians for their gardens.I think if people on forums who are interested in these kinds of problems get together for the common cause,we could actually get politicians to do something constructive about the environment. These forums are great if a constructive argument is achieved (like ours) its when people treat it as a insulting soap box. If you are interested please use my get in touch by P.M and have a look at my blog The forum wont let me put a link in)

[sheff 13 10]

Though it sounds a very good idea to attempt to get politicians to sort out the mess with our water courses they are too busy lining their pockets to pay any attention to what voters need.

The easiest way to make them listen as I see it would be to form a petition, the only problem with that it would need 100.000 names for it to qualify(I believe) That still doesn't guarantee it being debated in the house of commons.

Take the E petition regarding the call for control of Otters that I looked at on Yorkshire fishing, to date the number of signatures on that is 940.

To say that only fishermen seem concerned with the damage predators cause to fisheries would be true, but it just shows that the members of a fishing web site still feel uncomfortable with taking sides against fluffy animals.

I have to admit to being one of the live & let live brigade, I'm still of the opinion that creature & plant that were invited here by us can't be blamed for doing their best to survive.

As for things like; killer shrimp, Mitten crabs, Zebra mussels to name a few. I have no idea what can be done about these, to my mind if anything can be done we have to rely on scientists for guidance.

Now I have something in my head telling me you totally disagree with what I believe & you have ever right to, but as I see it more anglers know better than to join the category of kill em all because that's the mentality of some anglers.

I can't even say my thoughts are factually correct, as I've already said on numerous occasions in my posts. On the other hand you seem far more informed on the subject than me, but the thing is I don't feel I have to get my facts right. But anyone seeking action against any creatures will have to make sure they make no errors in the evidence they put forward or it will be jumped on.

Edited February 22, 2012 by sheff 13