Help protect native Noble crayfish by reporting the sighting of alien crayfish species in Estonia!
In Estonia, catching Noble crayfish is only allowed in August with an appropriate fishing licence, and only with open or closed traps.
However, in addition to the Noble crayfish, alien crayfish species of North-American origin can be found in Estonian freshwaters.
Estonian University of Life Sciences is calling for people to report any alien crayfish species observations. When an alien crayfish species is suspected, take a picture or a video (with date and location information) and report it by sending an e-mail to Katrin Kaldre, katrin.kaldre@emu.ee or Margo Hurt, margo.hurt@emu.ee.
- The Signal crayfish can be recognised by the white to bluish-white dorsal patch at the junction of the moveable and fixed finger of the claw.
- The Spiny-cheek crayfish has transverse brown-red band in each abdominal segment and the carapace has prominent spines on each side.
- The Marbled crayfish has a characteristic marble pattern.
- The Noble crayfish are usually red-brown to dark brown, but may also be greenish, blackish or blueish with broad, strong claws.
The project is funded through The European Economic Area (EEA) 2014-2021 grants “Climate Change Mitigation and Adaption” call I “Ecosystem resilience increased”.
