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The American Signal Crayfish - Pacifastacus leniusculus - The New Crayfish UK!

Whilst cruising the Kennet and Avon Canal we were told by an angler that there was a major problem for anglers with an introduced American Crayfish on the canal.

From our travels to the USA we know that American Signal Crayfish, freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters - to which they are related, are indigenous to the southern and western United States. Members of this species are known to grow up to around 6inches / 15cm in length.

Crayfish trap with American Signal Crayfish - Pacifastacus leniusculus - The New Crayfish UK American Signal Crayfish are bluish-brown to reddish-brown in colour with robust large smooth claws that can give a nasty nip! They have a white to pale blue-green patch near the claw hinge and red undersides to the claws. Like all crayfish, they are solitary animals and are omnivorous, although their diet is mainly vegetarian they will eat anything from decaying roots and leaves to meat, including crayfish smaller than themselves.

Crayfish trap with American Signal Crayfish - Pacifastacus leniusculus - The New Crayfish UK The American Signal Crayfish has been carelessly introduced into various countries without considering the fact that while it is resistant to the crayfish plague it can still act as a carrier. Thus, its proliferation expedites the eventual extinction of native crayfish. The concern is that this has been the case in the UK. Due to the crayfish plague native crayfish stocks have almost been exterminated. Crayfish plague is not indigenous to Europe, rather it was introduced by the introduction of the new species of American Signal Crayfish to the UK.

Cooked 6 inch American Signal Crayfish - Pacifastacus leniusculus We brought a crayfish trap back from the USA a few years ago when a pool we used to fish in Shropshire had an American Signal Crayfish problem. We had many a tasty treat out of that pool!

American Signal Crayfish - Pacifastacus leniusculus Anyway we placed the crayfish trap close to the canal bank about seven pm and by eight there was one critter in the trap!

By eight the following morning there were fourteen American Signal Crayfish staring back at us!

Send us your Crayfish recipes for the American Signal Crayfish - Pacifastacus leniusculus Once cooked off and de-shelled the resulting delicately flavoured tail and claw meat weighed in at around 4oz / 100g