In September 2009 I was on a trip south to visit family and spent a day with a friend of mine, fishing for the American Signal Crayfish, near Kingham in Oxfordshire.This is the River Evenlode on its upper reaches where it meanders through rough pasture on its way into the Thames catchment.
I was interested to see just how much these invaders had taken over and was a bit alarmed to find how many there were in a short stretch of river.
We were using 6 baited traps placed about a hundred metres apart, which were left for about an hour and a half.
When they were collected they were mostly full and falling over the sides.
I confess to knowing little about the effects these invaders are having on the UK's riparian habitat but hearing of their voracious reputation and that they will apparently turn to cannibalism when food runs out, I would imagine their possible impact is nothing short of potentially catastrophic.
