Crayfish in Egypt from problematic to consumable species – Video

Credit of the video: Innocent Zambou (Cameroon)

Review: Abdel Rahman El Gamal (Founder of the website and video channel)

The red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii was accidently introduced into Egypt in the early 1990s by a private business. That was not very long before some of the animals found their way to natural waterways. In fact, crayfish began to exist in fish farm in one of which this video was filmed.

For several years, neither fishermen nor consumers welcomed this unpleasant-looking animal which was seen worthless and non-edible. In fact, fishermen developed a strong negative opinion against such invasive species as reflected in their frequent complaints.

The potential environmental impact of crayfish was the subject of several workshops organized by universities and research institutes whereas the outcomes focused on creating awareness among consumers about the nutritional value of crayfish in human consumption. Afterwards, the consumption of captured crayfish gradually increased and hence fishermen began to market their catch of crayfish at reasonable prices. Promoting the consumption of crayfish has been found the realistic approach especially when knowing that it is almost impossible to get rid of these animals due to its digging behavior.

 

 

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