Look out for crayfish in the Elbow River

The next time you dip your feet in the Elbow River, you might want to wear water shoes. Alberta’s Ministry of Environment and Parks says there are crayfish in the water.

Nicole Kimmel, aquatic invasive species specialist with Environment and Parks, says northern crayfish are considered a pest, and it’s a little unexpected to find them in the river.

“We are now finding them anywhere from Grande Prairie, White Court, Athabasca, Cold Lake, all the way down south to the Montana border,” Kimmel explained.

She adds it’s likely that people are responsible for the pesky crustaceans spreading through the province.

“We suspect that they are probably catching them and just moving them alive and introducing them into water bodies. We also suspect that people might be using them as bait in some cases, and they might be moving them around that way as well.”

Anyone caught with live crayfish or using them as bait could face hefty fines, or even charges from Fish and Wildlife Enforcement.

“We don’t fully understand their impact,” Kimmel explained. “We do know that they can modify the abundance and diversity of the food species available in a water body, which could contribute to this decline in some of our native fish species as well as other species.”

She adds crayfish mostly keep to smaller, low-flowing waterways like the Elbow River, and she’s only received one report of crayfish in the Bow River. However, Environment and Parks encourages anyone that sees crayfish of any kind to file a report with them, as some types are considered invasive species.

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