Rescued crayfish released back into river

In July the Environment Agency’s fisheries team carried out an emergency rescue of a previously unknown population of white clawed crayfish at Burley in Wharfedale.

This followed a report from a member of the public about crayfish in distress in the watercourse, which was very low due to ongoing drought conditions in the region.

The team successfully rescued 32 adults, including 21 females carrying eggs (known as ‘berried’ females). They were taken to the Environment Agency’s licensed quarantine facility hosted by York Gate Gardens near Leeds.

Following health checks, the adults, as well as 30 babies that were born in quarantine, have now been released back into the wild, into a tributary of the River Wharfe.

The Environment Agency has kept around 30 further babies in quarantine at Yor