Invasive Crayfish - Important info for Nebraska Fisherman (via @NEGameandParks)

Ran across this post on barbsandbacklashes.wordpress.com about an invasive crayfish species that has been found in NE waters. Good info for you NE fisherman. If you ever catch one of these in NE waters, or buy them at a bait shop, please take the time to report it to Nebraska Game and Parks. Help protect our native waters and native species.

Jason
@heartlandfishin
heartlandfishing.blogspot.com

[excerpt]...Unfortunately, there are exotic species of crayfish that can cause problems in waters where they are not native. One of those crayfish species that has caused problems in some parts of the United States is the rusty crayfish, Orconectes rusticus. Rusty crayfish are native to the Ohio River basin in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee but have been introduced to many other “Midwestern” states. Once introduced into waters outside their native range, rusty crayfish have caused some major problems. Rusty crayfish have literally elminated aquatic vegetation from some waters and thus dramatically altered the aquatic habitat and food chain. They also out-compete native crayfish and may have significant impacts on other aquatic macroinvertebrates (e.g. aquatic insects). In some cases it is suspected that rusty crayfish prey on fish eggs. So, once again this is another example of an exotic species that we would like to keep out of our waters. [read the entire article]

via barbsandbacklashes.wordpress.com

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