Silhouette of a crayfish with red spots. Some adult specimens can reach 12 cm (five inches). This invasive exotic species is native to a watershed of the Ohio river in the United States. It would probably have been imported into Lake Brome by a fisherman who used it as a living bait. (Stéphane Champagne/La Voix de l’Est)
Using metallic traps in the shape of a shack (and if of course, we have a valid fishing permit), it is possible to fish for red spots with red spots. They would be delicious, especially in the form of a bisque or “guédilles”. Each year, conservation lake Brome lends traps to a few residents to keep an eye on the populations of the crustacean. Restaurateurs from Estrie wanted to obtain a commercial fishing permit to help control the populations of red spots with red spots, but the Ministry of the Environment refused.
(Stéphane Champagne/La Voix de l’Est)
The red spots was identified for the first time in Lake Brome in 2011. Since then, it has wreaked havoc. In particular, it eliminated the five or six other species of native crayfish. She also attacks the grasslands where the fish lay their eggs. She also loves to revel in larvae of insects and macroinvertebrates. (Stéphane Champagne/La Voix de l’Est)
It is called red stains crayfish, because it has a red rust spot on the side of each side of its shell. The tip of its pliers is black. Lake Brome is the only lake in Estrie to house this type of crayfish. There would also be at Lake Champlain, as well as in Montérégie and Outaouais.
(Stéphane Champagne/La Voix de l’Est)
Léa Couture, project manager with Conservation Lac Brome, and Christian Roy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Organization, checking crayfish traps. “The Ministry of the Environment continues to study and observe what is happening in Lake Brome, but it does not want to intervene,” says Roy. “We found crayfish in the Yamaska river towards Bromont,” he adds. My fear is that the species goes to Sorel, therefore to the St. Lawrence River. ”
(Stéphane Champagne/La Voix de l’Est)
One of the other forces of the red spot with red spots: it can adapt to various habitats. According to the Quebec Ministry of Wildlife, the species frequents lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. She does not dig into burrow, but she takes refuge in the interstices of the rocks or debris which line the bottom of the rivers.
(Stéphane Champagne/La Voix de l’Est)