mike
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Rampant Louisiana Crayfish Threaten Future Of French Frogs
By Alex Duval Smith In Paris
The Independent U.K., 12 November 2004
Transatlantic Relations Reached A New Low Yesterday Amid Reports That A Species
Of Voracious Giant Crayfish From The United States Is Nibbling Away At The
French Coastline.
The Humiliation, For France, Is Compounded By The Fact That The Crustacean
Abomination - Procambarus Clarkii - Hails From Louisiana, The Former French
Colony Which France Sold For A Trifle In 1803.
The Invader Delights In Preying On Delicate French Frogs And Defenceless
Tadpoles, As Well As Devouring Little Fish And Aquatic Plants. "Wherever They
Go, There Is No Plant Life Left," Said Environment Campaigner Jean-Marc Thirion.
Wetland Warden Stéphane Builles Said The Bright Red Invader With Its Giant
Pincers Multiplies At An Alarming Rate In Hidden Seabed Galleries With Discreet
Aeration Chimneys. In These Sub-Aquatic Dug-Outs, Each Female Lays Up To 700
Eggs, Twice A Year. Scientists Say That In The Northern Gironde Region Of The
Atlantic Coast And In All The Marshlands Lining The Garonne River, The
Population Of The Crayfish - Whose 20cm Length Gives Them Unrivalled Paddling
Power - Has Reached Up To 3 Tonnes Per Hectare.
M. Builles, Who Is Based At The Bruges Wetland Reserve Near Bordeaux, First Came
Across A Breeding Colony In 1999. "It Was The First Time We Had Been Confronted
With This Invasive Species Which Carries A Fungus That Decimates Our Own
White-Legged Crayfish," He Said.
Further East, In The Landes Region, Patrick Dulau, Director Of Nature
Conservation,
Said The Species Was On The March Like An Invading Army. "I Have Seen Them
Crossing Roads In Little Groups To Get To Wetland," He Claimed. "From The
Gironde Estuary, They Have Already Made Their Way To Charente-Maritime, 100km
Away. In 2002, They Reached The Atlantic Island Of Oléron."
Yet The French Happily Imported The Sinister Seafood In The 1970s When Supplies
Of Indigenous Crayfish Suddenly Declined And Restaurants Wanted To Keep Filling
Their Plateaux De Fruits De Mer .
Then, In 1983, When Local Stocks Had Recovered, The Importation Into France Of
Lousiana Crayfish Was Banned. Too Late: Procambarus Clarkii Was Already
Embedded. "There Is Nothing We Can Do. We Cannot Get Rid Of It," Said M. Builles
Who Added That Attempts To Use Cages To Trap And Destroy The Crustaceans Had Not
Significantly Reduced The Population.
Even Migrating Birds, With Their Considerable Appetites, Cannot Be Relied Upon
To Eat The Crayfish Fast Enough. What Is More, The Red Menace Is Affecting The
Physical Characteristics Of Birds That Choose France As A Resting Place.
Jean-Claude Barbraud, An Amateur Birdwatcher Who Feeds Data To A National
Research Programme On Herons, Black Kites And Storks, Said He Had Observed
Changes In Migrating Birds Since 1978. "In The Space Of A Few Years, The Legs Of
Young Storks, Which Used To Be Black With Yellow Spots, Have Turned Reddish.
Even The Skin Around The Wings Is Red," He Said.
I have the answer: Introduce the crayfish's natural predator, the Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus louisianensis), if that dosn't do the trick, Snapping Turtles (Chelodina serpentina), or better still Alligator Snappers (Macroclemys temminki).
By Alex Duval Smith In Paris
The Independent U.K., 12 November 2004
Transatlantic Relations Reached A New Low Yesterday Amid Reports That A Species
Of Voracious Giant Crayfish From The United States Is Nibbling Away At The
French Coastline.
The Humiliation, For France, Is Compounded By The Fact That The Crustacean
Abomination - Procambarus Clarkii - Hails From Louisiana, The Former French
Colony Which France Sold For A Trifle In 1803.
The Invader Delights In Preying On Delicate French Frogs And Defenceless
Tadpoles, As Well As Devouring Little Fish And Aquatic Plants. "Wherever They
Go, There Is No Plant Life Left," Said Environment Campaigner Jean-Marc Thirion.
Wetland Warden Stéphane Builles Said The Bright Red Invader With Its Giant
Pincers Multiplies At An Alarming Rate In Hidden Seabed Galleries With Discreet
Aeration Chimneys. In These Sub-Aquatic Dug-Outs, Each Female Lays Up To 700
Eggs, Twice A Year. Scientists Say That In The Northern Gironde Region Of The
Atlantic Coast And In All The Marshlands Lining The Garonne River, The
Population Of The Crayfish - Whose 20cm Length Gives Them Unrivalled Paddling
Power - Has Reached Up To 3 Tonnes Per Hectare.
M. Builles, Who Is Based At The Bruges Wetland Reserve Near Bordeaux, First Came
Across A Breeding Colony In 1999. "It Was The First Time We Had Been Confronted
With This Invasive Species Which Carries A Fungus That Decimates Our Own
White-Legged Crayfish," He Said.
Further East, In The Landes Region, Patrick Dulau, Director Of Nature
Conservation,
Said The Species Was On The March Like An Invading Army. "I Have Seen Them
Crossing Roads In Little Groups To Get To Wetland," He Claimed. "From The
Gironde Estuary, They Have Already Made Their Way To Charente-Maritime, 100km
Away. In 2002, They Reached The Atlantic Island Of Oléron."
Yet The French Happily Imported The Sinister Seafood In The 1970s When Supplies
Of Indigenous Crayfish Suddenly Declined And Restaurants Wanted To Keep Filling
Their Plateaux De Fruits De Mer .
Then, In 1983, When Local Stocks Had Recovered, The Importation Into France Of
Lousiana Crayfish Was Banned. Too Late: Procambarus Clarkii Was Already
Embedded. "There Is Nothing We Can Do. We Cannot Get Rid Of It," Said M. Builles
Who Added That Attempts To Use Cages To Trap And Destroy The Crustaceans Had Not
Significantly Reduced The Population.
Even Migrating Birds, With Their Considerable Appetites, Cannot Be Relied Upon
To Eat The Crayfish Fast Enough. What Is More, The Red Menace Is Affecting The
Physical Characteristics Of Birds That Choose France As A Resting Place.
Jean-Claude Barbraud, An Amateur Birdwatcher Who Feeds Data To A National
Research Programme On Herons, Black Kites And Storks, Said He Had Observed
Changes In Migrating Birds Since 1978. "In The Space Of A Few Years, The Legs Of
Young Storks, Which Used To Be Black With Yellow Spots, Have Turned Reddish.
Even The Skin Around The Wings Is Red," He Said.
I have the answer: Introduce the crayfish's natural predator, the Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus louisianensis), if that dosn't do the trick, Snapping Turtles (Chelodina serpentina), or better still Alligator Snappers (Macroclemys temminki).