April 4, 2014 — Sometimes the smallest critters can cause the biggest problems. For example, the rusty crayfish, which measures only five inches fully extended, is a major headache once it invades a fishery because the crustacean feeds on fish eggs and vegetation. The loss of vegetation reduces habitat for native crayfish and aquatic animals.
The rusty crayfish is native to the Ohio River, but N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission biologists discovered the rusty crayfish in 2007 making itself at home in the North Fork Catawba River, upstream of Lake James. The invader has expanded its presence 10 miles upstream in the North Fork Catawba, according to TR Russ, an aquatic wildlife diversity biologist with the NCWRC.
Any fisherman who finds a rusty crayfish should kill it immediately, note its location, freeze it, and contact Russ at thomas.russ@ncwildlife.org. The rusty crayfish can be identified from other crayfish by a rust-colored spot on its sides, just in front of its tail. The rusty crayfish also has black bands on the tips of its claws.
Read the full story at The Dispatch