Cloned Bait!

Hi Yakers:

            Looks like a lot of fun if you have a tank. Too bad I live in a 3rd story Apt.
                                                                   Sea-ya
                                                                   Ernie


Do you like to fish? I know you are tired of blowing money on GAS to get to the fish! Are you also Tired of blowing money on goldfish, minnows, shrimp, worms and other live bait for fishing - especially saltwater fishing? Here is a solution! Use these and sell your surplus supply! Your fishing buddies will love you! They might even pay for the gas when you take em fishing!

Self-Cloning Crayfish! Make your own feeder & bait supply! ONE Marble Crayfish makes hundreds - quickly! Your own colony - EZ to set up! Anyone can have this! With rising costs, these make good sense! No bull, check it out!




http://www.marbledcrayfish.com/index2.htm

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1298

Bad idea here! I did a little bit more research and they don't know much about this creature. It was found in the aquarium trade and nobody knows where its native habitat is.


-Brian G

Hi Brian:

         WTF, I had no idea they are such a problem!
                                                                Thanks
                                                                Ernie

Yep, it's listed as an invasive species and illegal in much of Europe and becuase we don't know where it is from, it should be listed here as well.  The really scary bit is that because they reproduce through parthenogenisis (i.e. cloning) it only takes one to start an invasion and they can quickly displace native crayfish.

Hi Brian:

     Is this something the Dept. of F&G should know about? I found the  Clone Bait Ad  on CL. I will post a disclamer with your link to the problem in UK.
                                                                               Thanks
                                                                               Ernie
                                                                     
                                               

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/spo/768788106.html

Each state is different in terms of what is on their black list.  I'm going to run this by a friend of mine who keeps track of invasive freshwater species (I do the marine ones) and see if she knows anything about it.

Brian

I'd be interested to know if they 'could' compete with Pacifastacus leniusculus ( signal crayfish). I can't seem to find anything about the marble's resistance to the crayfish plague. If they are affected by the crayfish plague then I doubt they could compete effectively with our well know leniusculus.

-Brian G

Well there is some evidence that the marbled crayfish is a mutant strain of a Procambarus sp. already native to North America.  If that's the case, it too might be resistant to the crayfish plague that has ravaged the European species.  There are two examples that I know of of North American crayfish spreading rapidly and invading new areas.  In warmer waters there's the red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii which has done quite well in spreading across the country from it's native Louisiana. In colder water, the dusky crayfish, Orconectes rusticus, has been quite invasive and has displaced many of the less common native crayfish species.

Still waiting to here from my contact at the USGS.

Brian

Heard back from my contact at the USGS.  She hadn't heard anything about marbled crayfish, but is very concerned.  She has forwarded my note to a bunch of folks (local and state agencies probably).   Hopefully we can get this brought up at the next "aquatic nuisance species task force" meeting and work on getting this species/strain of crayfish listed (make it illegal to sell, transport across state lines, etc..).  I'll let you know if something comes of this.   

Brian

Hi Brian:


        Thanks for the Intel. I don't want to
contribute to "Attack of the Killer Crayfish"
                                                  Sea-ya
                                                  Ernie

No worries Ernie, I'm glad you brought this to light. 

Brian

Dang, I learn more from this site than anywhere else!

Hello all,

I'm a biologist doing research with these "cloning" crayfish (see http://mermorkrebs.org).

Using them as live bait is highly risky in an environmental sense. There are simply too many unknowns about their biology.

I am currently trying to track the spread of these organisms through the pet trade and elsewhere. Please contact me if you see any offered through the email at the website above.

Zen Faulkes
Biology, The University of Texas-Pan American

Hi Zen:

     Your reference site "can't be displayed"
                                            Thanks
                                            Ernie
                                                   

Hi there,

Not sure what's wrong with Zen's link above, I get the same error message, but if you manually type it into the address box it should display, at least it did for me. give it a try.

stef