INVASIVE CRAYFISH Catch and Cook | Signal Crayfish Trapping UK
In this episode of Wild with Cyril I head to a local river to set traps in order to catch and cook invasive crayfish (also known as crawdads and crawfish). Having obtained the license from the Environmental Agency to trap and remove invasive signal crayfish from this river, I set out two UK legal crayfish traps baited with cat food. I set them out on a cold November evening to collect first thing the following morning.
Chapters
0:00 - Introduction
1:09 - Setting out the traps
3:46 - The next day
6:25 - Cooking time!
7:58 - Tasting time!
9:12 - Final thoughts
The next morning I check my traps to find them filled with signal crayfish. I remove them from the river and take them home to cook. After humanely dispatching the crayfish, I then boil them and prepare the tail meat for my girlfriend to use in a recipe. How do signal crayfish from a regular English river taste? You'll have to watch to find out! Signal crayfish are an invasive species in UK waters, so their removal is encouraged for the health of the ecosystem.
Legal note: If you want to go crayfish trapping in England you must first obtain permission to do so from the Environmental Agency. Traps must be of certain specified dimensions. You then need the landowner's permission as well. Do your own research before undertaking any crayfish trapping. Wild with Cyril takes no responsibility for anything illegal you might do.
#crayfish #catchandcook #england #invasivecrayfish
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Пікірлер: 106
What's the best recipe for Crayfish you've tried? If you've ever tried them at all!
@Ali-b16
3 жыл бұрын
I have my own secret recipe but I guess it won't be secret anymore I love to batter it in an egg and flour batter with CHILLI (not too much) powder in and its like a spicy twist on scampi which I have with mayo salt and salad or whatever sauce you have BOIL THE CRAYFISH FIRST AND THEN FRY THEM IN OIL TILL GOLDEN BROWN AND TAKE THEM OUT im 14 now but i have 2 years experience
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
@@Ali-b16 Thanks for sharing., that sounds delicious! Crayfish scampi sounds like a good dish to try out.
@MrComfyAustralia
3 жыл бұрын
cook them whole and alive, humanely by putting in fridge first they goto sleep
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
@@MrComfyAustralia Hadn't thought about using the fridge to sedate them. Thanks for the tip.
@pauldooley756
3 жыл бұрын
Potted crayfish because of the preservation.
Only in the UK would they put so many Regulations on harvesting an INVASIVE species, it's astounding.
@wanderingranger4208
3 жыл бұрын
I know what you mean but like he says it’s to make sure the traps aren’t killing other animals that we want to keep, plus the government always want their cut in anything we do so slap a license on it
@Khonnell66
2 жыл бұрын
@@wanderingranger4208 thankfully to get a license is free
@mikdahn1119
2 жыл бұрын
Belive me, Germany is much worse dude!
@redfinfisho
2 жыл бұрын
@@mikdahn1119 didn't Germany ban catch and release fishing or some bullshit?
@mikdahn1119
2 жыл бұрын
@@redfinfisho germany allows catching when you have fishing license. Nees to make a training for it. It is forbidden now to sell, buy or breed/have invasive crayfish. I try to get living Signal Crayfish for my aquaponic indoor system. No chance. I get red swampcrayfish from NL and currentlx try to get Signal Crayfish from UK. You guys have lots of them. You want to get rid of some?
Awesome video mate, please make more on crayfish trapping !
How desperate is the UK government, charging people to catch invasive species 🤔
@ptwotwo2055
2 жыл бұрын
It's free to trap crayfish
@Lithuenne
21 сағат бұрын
@@ptwotwo2055 that's not the only country that profits on this... :D
@ptwotwo2055
19 сағат бұрын
@@Lithuenne I literally said it's free, the permit required is free online.
Interesting video. I’m surprised you require a license to trap an invasive species. I’m from Australia and we don’t need a license to trap most of our indigenous crayfish species but there are a lot of regulations on traps and bag limits and seasons. The American Signal Crayfish looks almost identical to our Yabbie and their physiology is also almost identical. I have a couple of tips for your viewers all of which can be seen on Robbiefishing, Robert Alexanders’ KZread channel. First, you can put the crayfish to ‘sleep’ by cooling them down to 2-4 degrees Celsius which makes them very easy to handle. Second, humanly dispatch them with a sharp pointed knife through the brain. Third, if they have any external parasites a soak in a strong brine solution will clean them. Fourth, at the end of the tail there’s five fins, grab the middle one and twist it over 180 degrees and pull. The intestinal tract will pull right out. Fifth, boil in water with a dash of salt and few slices of lemon or a bit of white vinegar. The flesh can then be removed and used as any other aquatic protein but my preference is in a mornay sauce on toast or with pasta. I strongly recommend trapping over many successive days and cooking and freezing each batch until you have a good amount of meat. (Don’t forget about the claws as they have the sweetest meat.) Always release any native crayfish you catch. You can use the carapace and water you rinse the flesh in to make a broth in which to cook your pasta and also crush up the remains into a paste to attract more crayfish to the area you are trapping. If more people knew how tasty these are they wouldn’t be a problem as they’d be fished out.
@dennis.the.drummer
Жыл бұрын
Just to check, you mentioned the claws, but in the video they didn't seem to be eaten...is this right?
@glenbaker4024
Жыл бұрын
@@dennis.the.drummer Hi Dennis. I only commented on the video, I didn’t post it. A lot of people neglect the claws but they’re very tasty. Cheers
@horsenuts1831
29 күн бұрын
I've caught yabbies out of a farm's dam in the Hunter Valley and they were considerably smaller than these American Signals. I expect our native white claw crayfish are closer in size to NSW yabbies (although I think they shoot you if you eat a protected native crayfish here). We spent ages trying to catch yabbies and we didn't get enough for a starter. The signal crayfish are larger and the males even have a decent amount of meat in the claws which is particularly sweet. With regard to the license, it is free - it just acts as a way to keep track of people putting the lives of water mammals (otters and water voles) at risk, and also keeping trapping licences away from areas where the native crayfish are still hanging on. If, say, you have a Norfolk postcode, they won't issue you with a licence.
You would catch even more by suspending the can from the top of the trap and forcing them to go inside to feed instead of just staying outside and feeding from the can at the bottom of the trap like you are currently doing...great video , subscribed!!!
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in mind for next time. And thanks for subscribing!
Heres a workaround to catching them without a licence. It is legal to catch them, just not to trap them. Trapping requires the licence as they want to be sure your not trapping the wrong kind of crayfish. All the information I can find online it would be legal to catch them using a crabbing line, the sort youd see kids using off a pier at any UK harbour. I know from fishing they are absolutely ravinous feeders, theyl latch onto a tiny hook and a single maggot through heavy flowing water, so I'd imagine bacon or something in a crabbing line bag and youd be able to get them out no problem. I would avoid using the ones that have a catch net as I could assume thats considered trapping and I'd keep to the ones that are just a bag you put bait / chum in. My record of landing crayfish on a rod is about 8 in a day, so as I say, id imagine its a piece of cake to land them using a crabbing line. I cant stress enough how crazy crayfish are, they will just hold onto a thin piece of fishing line for dear life, my brother has landed 3 at the same time with one maggot as bait on a fishing rod (obviously we werent aiming for them though lol). If you asked permission I'd imagine most fisheries / fisherman / land owners would be completely fine with you catching them, as they are super annoying when your trying to fish, hit up some fishing clubs, theyl likely just let you do it for free. I plan on doing this when fishing season kicks back up again on the club waters I hold membership for...
Mate I'm from Birmingham watch plenty crawboil vids... U need to 100% purge your crawfish until water clean not just rinse in a colinda especially in the UK water ways with our very high levels of raw sewage in our water., nice catch though
@TobiasJugg-Regis
4 ай бұрын
How long do you purge for?
Glad it tasted great in the end! De-shelling things is certainly not quick or fun, but does seem to end with some good results!
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
Yes it does!
Shouldn't they of been purged in salt water first ? Or at least left over night in some none river / canal water to clear them a little ?
@ashscott6068
3 жыл бұрын
No need. You pull out their digestive tract
@JC-jy9lm
3 жыл бұрын
@@ashscott6068 Still would need flushing through with cleaner water to not have that gritty muddy taste
I thought that there was no rules to catching American signal crayfish as there invasive and distructive to r native crayfish? Sorry we all must have been given wrong information, can you tell us the correct information please, thanks
I used to catch Crayfish in the UK and i found Fish Boilies much cheaper and more effective and to stop getting bitten I used silicion tipped kitchen tongs
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
Fish boilies is a really good idea! Won't get eaten or washed away. Also silicon gripped prongs sounds ways easier than trying to not get nipped while holding them with your fingers (which is what I did).
@bazbond6004
3 жыл бұрын
@@wildwithcyril8987 Glad I could be of some help, I used to use a strong fixed blade potatoe peeler to kill them as it was quick instead of boiling them
is that the meat from the claws too
Next time when they have the big claws, break them and get the meat out, also really nice.
Do you only need a license when trapping in the UK? I normally catch by hand here in the US. Would you need a license to catch by hand in the UK?
@zeelakeela
2 жыл бұрын
technically yes you would, due to them being an invasive species Under Section 27A of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975. Although theres so many unregulated waterways i doubt you would get caught, plus its more fun that way too.
Wow! That really is a weird sound that they make. LOL to "Crayfish are my passion..."
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
The Crayfish sound is pretty off putting, isn't it?
Chicken wings, good bait
90cm legal size of trap entrance, whats so secret about it?? You ought to rinse them first in salt water, then fresh water
@LunaRose1312
2 жыл бұрын
I think it was more him advising people to research themselves and not take his word for it,
@gonzoukraineofficial
6 ай бұрын
It’s to stop otters getting trapped.
how do crayfishes travel between different separated bodies of water?
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
A combination of things. Crayfish farms close to water ways. Crayfish eggs getting on peoples' fishing gear and being transported that way. The fact that lots of water ways lead into other waterways. Signal crayfish are pretty much everywhere in England now.
Just found your channel, nice I've subscribed
KZread doesn't care...not icky enough lol
Do you throw the females back? Or do you keep them?
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
All signal crayfish trapped in the UK by law must be removed from the water and destroyed. I don't think I could tell the difference anyway.
whats the best months to catch signal crawfish in Cyril? I'm thinking of getting the license
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
Probably in the summer. Warmer temps mean more activity in general. But I caught all of mine in the autumn so you'll probably catch some whatever season.
@eistynlewis6745
3 жыл бұрын
@@wildwithcyril8987 Thanks mate
Is the one with red claws a different subspecies? A different sex? Or what?
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
All the same species. It's just that crayfish was upside down, and you could see the underside of the claws.
@charlieharley616
3 жыл бұрын
@@wildwithcyril8987 OK, that makes sense!
"OI MATE! YOO GOT A LOICENSE FER HAWVESTING INVAYSIEEV SPEESHIEYS?!?" Imagine being british....
Did you de-vein them?
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
If you mean taking out the waste pipe, yeah. After i dispatched them I pulled the pipe out by pulling off the middle fin on the tail.
@thelrproject257
3 жыл бұрын
@@wildwithcyril8987 so you do that before boiling right?
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
Yep. Happy crayfish trapping.
Did you purge them in clean water?
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
No. Probably should have. But I'm alive now to type this so make of that what you will.
One through the nut always works!
U over cooked them 20 mins , they need 10 mins , medium boil , looks delicious
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the heads up. I wanted to boil them that long because English rivers are kind of gross.
@tishjohnson6157
3 жыл бұрын
@@wildwithcyril8987 I just moved back to uk 🇬🇧 from living in USA for 15 years , they are naturally dirty , in USA they call them mud bugs , cus they live in dirt , just put them in a bucket 🪣 of tap 🚰 water , with a lid on for 2 hrs and they should die , then keep changing the water , about 5 times , then scrub with a toothbrush 🪥, love your channel, now I reconnecting with uk 🇬🇧, your channel is teaching me what I can forge for
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
@@tishjohnson6157 Thank you for the tips. I'm really glad you like the channel. I'm working on new content now I'm allowed to so hopefully I should have new videos coming out soon.
Really the shit utube allows and you have to blurr out crayfish cleaning😮
Only the tails and huge claws are good. No need to cook the entire thing
And they come from Canada not America
Cray fish curry
@wildwithcyril8987
3 жыл бұрын
Solid choice.
Didn't show us how to peel them buddy.
Yeti bucket -£450
D0 u no what your doing seems not
I thought that there was no rules to catching American signal crayfish as there invasive and distructive to r native crayfish? Sorry we all must have been given wrong information, can you tell us the correct information please, thanks