crayfish in caithness?

[buggyracer]

Is is something we get up here or have they not spread this far north?

[jambo]

once caught some when we use to fish creels round scrabster end but dont think there is any quatity of them up here.

[buggyracer]

im talking about fresh water crayfish, further south there at plague proportions in places, but its not something i have heard of up here?

[Rheghead]

isn't the real concern with american crayfish rather than the native type?

[Dadie]

yes there is freshwater crayfish here!

[buggyracer]

isn't the real concern with american crayfish rather than the native type?

yes the american ones are the problem, are they here?

where abouts dadi?

[telfordstar]

ive seen it on the menu in wetherspoons but you can probabaly be assused its frozen. never tasted cray fish before is it similar to anything?

[buggyracer]

ive seen it on the menu in wetherspoons but you can probabaly be assused its frozen. never tasted cray fish before is it similar to anything?

LOL i think you could guarantee it would be frozen :)

just similar to a prawn in appearance, not as good tasting though.

[riggerboy]

you get crayfish in lidles in small tubs and they are lovely with some o what ever it is the wife makes but its lovely anyway think they cost about £3

[the_big_mac]

LOL i think you could guarantee it would be frozen :)

just similar to a prawn in appearance, not as good tasting though.

Better than prawns imo, love them.

Ive fished a lot of rivers and lochs up here and have never seen them, or any sign that they would be here. If they were im sure the river managers would know about it as they cause massive problems with fish stocks.

[grumpyhippo]

I don't know about Caithness but the native British crayfish, where they were in rivers and lakes, have evolved to coexist with native species of fish. The American signal crayfish is bigger and more agressive eats native species fish eggs and native crayfish and effectively expells the native species from its habitat.
The American crayfish also carry a virus that is deadly to the native species. Apparently this virus can be carried on fishing tackle so it is imperative that if you fish a river or lake that has American crayfish in it you take appropriate bio-security measures before fishing 'clean' waters.
I was in Yorkshire earlier this year and a small tarn that used to have a thriving native crayfish population now has almost none, but there are no yanky crayfish there. They think the virus must have been introduced from fishing tackle.

Having said all that crayfish are excellent eating, like lobster only not as firm, but don't over cook or they get tough and loose a lot of their flavour.

[Jeemag_USA]

I think you mean Crawfish, in reference to the american ones. or Crawdads as they like to call them. Can't see how a plague of them can be a bad thing, they are awesome to eat, get them out by the bucketload and start cooking them and lash on the hot sauce until they become extinct :P

You can't catch Crayfish/Crawfish in Scrabster cause they are all freshwater. What some countries refer to as Cray are actually spiny lobster.

[cullbucket]

Used to have them in a wee duck pond at a farm I worked in near Balintore in RossShire...

[grumpyhippo]

I Can't see how a plague of them can be a bad thing.

Its the plague they carry that is the problem.

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/fish/246986/342184/1205879/?lang=_e (http://forum.caithness.org/go.php?url=http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/fish/246986/342184/1205879/?lang=_e)

[Welcomefamily]

Taste wonderful.