Endangered crayfish reintroduced to Swiss rivers

Two researchers at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) have bred white-clawed crayfish and reintroduced the highly endangered species to the wild. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The young crayfish serve as food for fish and other aquatic organisms, Raphael Krieg, who initiated the project with Armin Zenker, told Keystone-ATS. Just after hatching, crayfish are barely a centimetre long. Protected breeding makes it possible to overcome this perilous phase of life. Egg-bearing females were collected in spring from the Lisselle, a tributary of the Birs, and brought to the FHNW breeding facility. Once the young had hatched, the mothers were returned to the Lisselle. Protected rearing took place in a facility with specially prepared water and controlled feeding. The aim was to set up a breeding station for white-clawed crayfish in the Birs watershed. The Lisselle is home to a large population of white-clawed crayfish, making it ...