MESSAGE FROM BOB

Natural England tell us that "no cost-effective control techniques have yet been found for eradicating non-native crayfish once established in a river or lake". This is because no academic research has yet provided an answer because very few eco-academics are also business minded. Most academics understandably fear anything to do with Commerce for it was Commerce that got us into this crayfish mess, and many others. My belief is that, especially in the current economic climate, Commerce may also offer us the only cost-effective way out.

It was over eight years ago that, on that basis, I rashly decided to take on the American Signal crayfish. Since then I have learned much about: their natural-history; the commercial market; how to trap them; how best to cook them.

The Environment Agency maintains that, "The commercial market for selling crayfish in the UK is very small". This is true of the traditional market in live crayfish but they fail to acknowledge the far, far greater market in processed crayfish imported into the UK from China.

Ironically, each time the UK's invasive crayfish receive a bit of publicity (and over the last fifteen years the American Signal crayfish has received a lot of exposure) the sales of imported Chinese crayfish increase. The public sees the likes of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall singing culinary praises for our invasive crayfish on television and then go out and buy plastic tubs labelled "Wild Crayfish: Produced in the UK". The public purchase this crayfish tail-meat by the tonne, usually unaware that the only thing that actually comes from the UK is the brine that is added during packaging.

The UK annually imports millions of pounds worth of these processed crayfish from China and the Far East. To gain a perspective on quantities, it is on record that the UK sales for Prêt a Manger crayfish sandwiches totalled 2.2 million in 2002. By my calculations that Prêt a Manger order alone required over 400 tonne of Red Swamp crayfish to be commercially farmed and harshly processed in China. Based on these figures we can be sure that the quantities passing annually through the supermarkets are much greater. The UK must be importing the equivalent of well over 1,000 tonnes per annum. Importing such huge quantities is madness! A quite unnecessary import and accompanying carbon-footprint while we have a far superior product right here in the UK and, what is more, a product that we need to remove.

Crayfish are delicate in flavour and can easily be rendered bland during processing. I know that our waterways are very clean and the wild invasive crayfish are healthy and natural. Pellet-fed crayfish from the more dubious Chinese waters are a far inferior product even before they have been severely processed. Yes, they are cheap, but they provide virtually nothing more than texture. My task would be a lot easier if us Brits began to appreciate the value of quality food in the same way that many Europeans do.

Also, regardless of the obvious "green" benefits from using our local product, our lips speak "green" but our purchasing actions mostly do not, simply because the cheapest fiscal cost is our deciding factor.

The question has been how to get rid of enormous quantities of invasive-crayfish and the answer, surely, is to replace the imported product with our own superior crayfish. The end produce being crayfish in different preparations such as traditionally boiled, smoked and potted. If people bought locally-caught produce, instead of even half of the quantity that we currently import, we would have a large-scale, self-supporting, commercial trapping operation, which would be independently run, but works closely alongside the appropriate Government agencies. It may not be possible to trap these crayfish to extinction but the continuous removal of very large numbers will certainly help to address the problem.

As regards the very small market in live crayfish: selling them live seems like a recipe for spreading them further and should not be encouraged.

For all the reasons set out above I am pleased to announce the imminent launch of the product brand "Crayfish-Bob" and invite you to visit www.crayfish-bob.co.uk for more details. 

Cheers!

Bob

Bob Ring was found in a bin in 1954.

BA (Hons) Fine Art Film, and PG Dip. Communication Design, 
both at St Martins School of Art.

Creative mind with a love for our natural history.

Well travelled bon viveur.

Artist, photographer, designer (Design Council award in 1985 for the holographic Laserblinds); expert and trader in natural-history antiquaries (especially psittacine) and vintage toys.

Set up Crayaway in 2003.

Launched the Crayfish-Bob brand in 2011.

Founded the National Institute of Crayfish Trappers in 2011  www.nict.org.uk

Featured television appearances include:-
Three Men in a Boat (BBC2 2006)
A Taste of my Life (BBC2 2007)

Natural World (BBC2 expected June or July 2012)

Books:-
“To the Baltic with Bob” by Griff Rhys-Jones (2003)