Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has considered developing an invasive American signal crayfish eradication strategy in (a) England and (b) Norfolk.

American signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) are listed as Species of Special Concern and actions such as their commercial use, release into the environment and transport are banned under the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019.

Signal crayfish are also subject to management measures aimed at containing and controlling their populations where possible. This means that in England this species is more closely regulated through a system of Exclusion and Containment zones to prevent further spread.

Crayfish trapping in the ‘exclusion zones’ is only allowed for conservation, scientific, or fisheries management purposes, and no commercial use of any kind is permitted.

Trapping of signal crayfish is allowed in the containment zones (where an authorisation has been granted), but sale of live Signal crayfish is not permitted. Crayfish must be dispatched at the place of capture or taken to a licensed processing facility. Facilities are not licensed to obtain or receive crayfish taken from exclusion zones. To reduce the threat of this species being spread further, there is a total ban on the movement of live crayfish outside of licenced activity.

More information about the public consultation which led to this policy can be found here.