Mechernich (dpa / lnw) - 300 young noble crayfish have been exposed as part of a species protection project in a body of water in Mechernich in the Eifel. The nature conservation association Nabu NRW announced on Thursday that there has been a project to protect these native crayfish since 2003. The partners are Nabu, the North Rhine-Westphalia Fishing Association and the Lanuv State Environment Agency. The small animals threatened with extinction are bred near the Rhine, Weser and Ems. At the time of release, they are just two summers old and, not counting the claws, about two inches tall.
Other American crayfish species, which are now also found in NRW, are dangerous for the noble crayfish, because they can transmit a disease that can lead to a mass death of the native crayfish. Therefore, this disease got the name "cancerous plague". The introduced crayfish species of North America are resistant to it.
Habitats without running water can be a good substitute for the endangered crabs - such as the place in the Euskirchen district where the animals were released on Thursday. "The exact location is not published to protect the noble crayfish," said the Nabu.
As part of the species protection project, small crayfish are released five to six times a year in suitable bodies of water - such as quarry ponds - in Westphalia and the Rhineland. The campaign in Mechernich was the last this year. The chances of success are high, said Nabu. "The next few years will show whether the resettlement will actually work," said Harald Groß, head of the noble crayfish project.
Even if the crabs are still small - they can use their claws to pinch. "With the little ones, it's more of a pinch," reported Groß. Older animals can grow up to 18 centimeters, said the project leader. Contact with their claws can be painful.
