please can anyone ID this crayfish?

[Lou]

Caught from an extremely clean (glacial fed) french lake yesterday, large crayfish, about 10-15 cms long, turquoise between the joints of legs and green/brownish all over. Very aggressive, very fast movers. I want to know if this is an indigenous crayfish and therefore protected or can be caught and eaten in large quantities.

Sorry for blurred photo, but they were fast! unable to get a photo on here, but here is a link:

http://twitter.com/#!/tawnyhare/status/94071550248108033

thanks!

 

[resnikov]

there you go

 

[Lou]

Thanks, I have no idea why I cannot do that!

 

[Geoff Dann]

Caught from an extremely clean (glacial fed) french lake yesterday, large crayfish, about 10-15 cms long, turquoise between the joints of legs and green/brownish all over. Very aggressive, very fast movers. I want to know if this is an indigenous crayfish and therefore protected or can be caught and eaten in large quantities.

Sorry for blurred photo, but they were fast! unable to get a photo on here, but here is a link:

http://twitter.com/#!/tawnyhare/status/94071550248108033

thanks!

Doesn't look like an American signal crayfish, so probably native. Protected in the UK, don't know about France. Signal crayfish have red claws.

 

[Bushwhacker]

Signals. Tuck in!

 

[Lou]

OK, I was not sure they were signals - signals are much smaller than this, I think?

We did actually eat these two, but I am not going to catch anymore now if they are not signals, such a shame as the lake is a tourist hotspot and holiday makers are hooking them out of the water here, there and everywhere with nets - I hope that they have the sense to put them back, but I watched all the buckets yesterday leave with the crayfish in them. Some were huge.

I need a definitive answer on this one, as if they are signals, I will make a trap and have them for breakfast every morning!!!!

 

[Bushwhacker]

Signals get bigger than that, I've had some monsters! Take as many as you can get if you're allowed. I think you might have got confused it's signals that are the invasive ones.

 

[Ex Member - Sidney Bounty]

send me a few bucket fulls after I eat em I will let you know what kind they are most likely the taste kind....

 

[santaman2000]

OK, I was not sure they were signals - signals are much smaller than this, I think?...

Don't really know what"signal" is per se. But an American crawfish is anywhere from 2" to 7" with the average being about 4." for wild and 5" for farmed. And no, they don't all have red claws.

As for cooking and eating them, it takes about a pound of live crawfish per person to make a meal. They need to be placed in a couple of changes of fresh water over a 12-24 hour period while live to purge before cooking.

 

[Lou]

I must say there are so many in the lake, we have just been out again this evening and my daughter caught two with a hobo line and bacon, they seem to be crawling all over the place. I was confused by the turquoise joints, thought that must be something indigenous. But if the general consensus is that they are signal - I mean we got japanese knot weed here, so no doubt they could be an import too....then I am happy to go with it.

 

[Bushwhacker]

The flash of colour on the joints says signal all day long. I'll post some pics up tomorrow.

 

[slowworm]

This identity guide from the Environment Agency might be helpful: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Leisure/Crayfish_Identify.pdf

 

[Lou]

it looks like this: (from wikipedia): the turquoise joint colour is exactly the same and this is a signal crayfish!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fileacifastacus_leniusculus_01_by-dpc.jpg

 

[Bushwhacker]

In the water. You can see the striking flash of colour at the pincer joint even though it's quite well camouflaged.

Out the water. I just plucked this one straight out - approach from behind and hold it at the side of the carapace like that. The only place you can hold them without them being able to pinch you.

 

[Lou]

great photos Bushwacker, thanks, yep, well this is definitely what I have been catching, the flash of blue on the pincer is unmistakable, now I know what to look for - I feel very very sad for the lake, which I would have thought was a pristine mountain lake, but of course I know now is not........but very pleased that I can now catch and eat them without guilt. Looks like it is two more for breakfast this morning along with the trout I caught yesterday evening.

 

[Lou]

deleted, duplicate post

 

[Geoff Dann]

This identity guide from the Environment Agency might be helpful: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Leisure/Crayfish_Identify.pdf

There's six non-native species of crayfish in the UK???? You learn something every day...