Removing Signal Crayfish May Do More Harm Than Good

[Elton]

Sounds very similar to the theory that is often mentioned when big pike are killed:

 

CLICK HERE

[Chris Plumb]

Sounds very similar to the theory that is often mentioned when big pike are killed:

 

CLICK HERE

 

That's certainly been the experience of a couple of trappers who I've spoken to on the Kennet - over the years average size of signals caught has gone down but overall tonnage of signals caught has gone up!!! (Tonnage is only a slight exaggeration - these guys are getting around a tonne of crays per season - Apr-Sep).

 

 

C.

[suffolktoad]

We should have a catch and kill no closed season on all fish and whatever introduced to our waterways in the last 100 years, that might give our native species a chance and lets include otters, cormorants, and the greens.

[arbocop]

That's certainly been the experience of a couple of trappers who I've spoken to on the Kennet - over the years average size of signals caught has gone down but overall tonnage of signals caught has gone up!!! (Tonnage is only a slight exaggeration - these guys are getting around a tonne of crays per season - Apr-Sep).

 

 

C.

 

 

I understand that smaller ones will proliferate if the larger are removed, but their sentence confuses me slightly;

 

She added it has the opposite effect because as trapping tends to catch larger, more mature specimens, it can actually reduce competition for young crayfish and allow them to breed even more ferociously than before.

 

Surely the females will only be mated succesfully once, how many times they may be mated, no matter how ferociously makes no difference - doesn't it?