| Crayfish
have been poisoned in ponds before, but
this was the first attempt
anywhere to treat moving
water.
The project involved every member of the
Tay District Salmon Fisheries staff and
dozens of people from multiple agencies
and volunteers from across the UK and took
over 3 weeks to complete.
Two ponds were treated as well as 700m
of stream. At all times 100m sections were
divided off by double sandbag dams so that
no poison could escape and a complex system
of pumps and pipes re circled the water,
isolated the section under treatment and
provided for de watering.
Thanks are due to a great number of people
and organisations for the successful conclusion
of the Project, especially to Stephanie
Peay the lead consultant, to the staff of
the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board,
the Tay Foundation, Scottish Natural Heritage,
Scottish Executive Environment and Rural
Affairs Department, Fisheries Research Services
and to the staff from The Environment Agency
who travelled north of the border to lend
a hand.
That is the good news. The bad news is
that we already knew of another site that
had been infested on the Earn and it looks
like there may be another on the Shee. Unlike
many other rivers we stand a chance of eradicating
them before they take over. Your help and
financial support is urgently requested
and required so as to eliminate the next
colony before it gets out of hand.
To help please contact http://www.tayfoundation.org/
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North American signal
crayfish which have been introduced
to Britain represent a major threat
to the natural ecology of our rivers.
These animals have spread rapidly
in many rivers, especially in England.
Their numbers are prolific and they
can dominate those environments they
invade. They eat almost anything,
vegetable matter, carrion or fish
if they can get them. They threaten
fish because they can hide in crevices
below stones or under banks, which
fish like young salmon and trout also
use during the winter or during spates.
North American signal
crayfish pose a real threat to the
ecology of Scottish rivers even to
fish like trout and salmon. Their
spread must be prevented. For more
information from Fisheries Research
Services click
here. |
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