Crays gangs clash! Battle in Regent's Canal

Published: 2 September, 2010
by DAN CARRIER

AN alien invasion has hit the Regent’s Canal.

Rare American red-swamp crayfish have been found in the canal, which snakes through Camden, and marine biologists are now setting up an urgent study to monitor the effect they are having on native creatures. 

Experts have reported an increase in sightings of the ferocious-looking crustaceans, and fear they will kill their smaller British cousins, the white-clawed crayfish, as they battle it out for food and territory. 

Researchers from King’s College London plan to lay lobster pots along the canal to monitor numbers.

British Waterways ecologist Leela O’Dea, who is running the survey,  said: “It’s essential that we understand the extent to which invasive species are colonising the canal. The inland waterways we care for provide a 2,200 mile-long wetland reserve which is an essential habitat for thousands of fish, animals and birds.”