Mrs Gurnmeister gasped with indignation this evening while watching Landward on BBC2 as the reporter referred to "the Nairn in Morayshire".
Apart from that elementary mistake the snippet on the River Nairn was as advertised, Nairn anglers were shown catching North American Signal Crayfish in traps. The mannie from SNH was rather defeatist however, claiming that very little could be done but Nairn anglers feel that they can make a difference. Amazing isn't it? The authorities are keen to spend big money on getting all the mink but when it comes to these crayfish beasties that like to eat salmon eggs it's a different story. Bin the defeatist mannie and spend the equivalent of his salary on a few more traps?
PS if you didn't see Landward then issue 12 is available on the BBC iPlayer for a few days. The Nairn item is about 10.48 minutes into the video.
What's the price of Crayfish per kilo
ReplyDeletethese days.?
Forget aboput the salmon, catch the little buggers and eat them; www.crayfishking.com/prep.htm instead!
ReplyDeleteSNH are the biggest waste of money. They have their fingers in everything, and are usually unhelpful or equally discouraging, as they were tonight. Keep up the good work the anglers. Any less crayfish has got to be a good thing. As for Nairn in, Morayshire - nuff said...
ReplyDeleteHere's what Crayfish can do to the river environment:
ReplyDelete"Impacts on other biodiversity and conservation interests
Signal crayfish have a significantly adverse impact on native freshwater flora and fauna in running and standing waters. They can do this by consuming large quantities of plants and invertebrates, and by either predating or displacing amphibians and fish. Signal crayfish can also modify aquatic environments, by burrowing into the banks or rivers and ponds.
In ponds, this behaviour can undermine the littoral zone and result in increased turbidity.
In running waters, extensive burrows may destabilize the riparian zone, leading to increased rates of bank erosion, the shallowing of streams and the compaction of salmonid and lamprey spawning grounds.
The species' impact on freshwater pearl mussel is unknown but is likely to be significant .
The potential for signal crayfish to act as a vector for transmission of diseases within or between catchments cannot be discounted."
More on the SNH site
With the Crayfish on the Water and Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam taking over the river banks the ecology of the River Nairn is certainly up against it.
SNH are correct. It has been proven all over the UK from scientific trials that physical control DOES NOT reduce the crayfish numbers. Some evidence actually points to reducing crayfish numbers physically leads to more activity and a long term expansion in numbers.
ReplyDeleteChemical control abroad has had mixed results and is very dubious environmentally. Possibly biological control may work, but again there is environmental consequence.
Basically proven data has shown, once crayfish are in a river system, they are there to stay.
Get real and stop moaning.
Is any of this scientific data available online please?
ReplyDeleteYes - try Google like everyone else...
ReplyDelete