North American Signal Crayfish

[fred gordon]

I picked up a leaflet today on these fellows from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). It seems thay are quite keen to eradicate it from our rivers, lochs etc. However, I believe it is illegal to fish for crayfish without a licence. Does this apply to the Signal Crayfish or can we set traps for it in infected waters? I noted that Mr Mears cooked some recently and they looked fabulous to eat. So can we set traps in Scottish lochs and rivers for these things?

 

[ady05]

hi fred you need to contact the environment agency and ask for an fr2 form this is an application to use fishing instuments other than rod and line they will send you an information pack with a lot of detailsit is illegal to remove the white clawed crayfish (the native species) ive been trapping since last year fresh signals are very tasty

 

[bushtank]

have been getting these little nippers for years now mainly down south they are real good on the open fire i set up to 10 traps all with tags from environment agency at no cost all you need is the land /river owners permission to do it. I have been know to catch 250+doing a all nighter

 

[fred gordon]

hi fred you need to contact the environment agency and ask for an fr2 form this is an application to use fishing instuments other than rod and line they will send you an information pack with a lot of detailsit is illegal to remove the white clawed crayfish (the native species) ive been trapping since last year fresh signals are very tasty

Thanks, thats very helpful. I seem to remember that the law is different in Scotland as far as fishing is concerned. Does this application apply in Scotland, do you know?

 

[ady05]

i can vouch for that its a good spot you have there tom

 

[ady05]

not sure if it does fred as the booklet i have only shows england and wales you could try here www.environment-agency.gov.uk

 

[bushtank]

i can vouch for that its a good spot you have there tom

bet you are looking forward to going down south this year mate crayfishing and bushcraft thrown in you cant beat it

 

[ady05]

looking forward to it mate

 

[gregorach]

No point trying the Environment Agency, they only deal with England and Wales. Try the Scottish Environment Protection Agency instead. And let us know what you find out!