Crayfish monitoring

Great weather for crayfish monitoring

It was good weather for Giant Freshwater Crayfish to be out and about in the rain in October, although quite challenging for staff and crayfish expert Todd Walsh when they completed the baseline monitoring for the Giant Freshwater Crayfish Project.

Larger crayfish were trapped, microchipped, measured, weighed and released with the largest recorded being 2.4 kg and about 23 years old! Contrast that with the 5 year old juvenile that was trapped and measured but was too small to tag.

Staff also undertook macroinvertebrate sampling in the streams to try and get a handle on stream health. Larvae of stoneflies and caddis flies were found in some of the samples, indicating better health in these streams, whereas in other samples there was no sign of them.

It was great to see some larger healthier individuals trapped and some juveniles, indicating that there is potential for the population to recover from illegal fishing activities. As part of the project, Cradle Coast Authority is working with private landholders to improve management of their river environments. This includes providing funding for works such as fencing and revegetation to help improve the habitat for these unique creatures. Maintaining good buffer strips of woody vegetation between the high bank and activities in the adjacent paddock helps to slow runoff, reduces sediment and nutrients getting into the river and provides an excellent food source for the crayfish when the timber falls into the River.

This project is supported by Cradle Coast Authority with funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Scanning one of the crayfish after it has been trapped and tagged. Iona and Fiona undertaking crayfish monitoring.