Crayfish in restaurants and markets

If you are buying crayfish in a market or eating it in a restaurant you can help protect our White-claws by making informed choices.

At markets avoid buying live crayfish in markets, you can help reduce the spread of introduced crayfish. This is because the ‘live’ crayfish food trade increases the risks of accidental escapes and deliberate introductions. This doesn’t mean you have to stop eating crayfish as they are available frozen or processed instead.

At restaurants check whether the crayfish being sold was bought live. If the restaurant buys live crayfish try to tell them about the plight of the White-claws and encourage them not to buy live crayfish – you could choose something else from the menu.

If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland it is illegal for fish markets and restaurants to have any live freshwater crayfish. If you want to report illegal live sales see details in the contact box below.

Signal crayfish at a fish market © Stephanie Peay