Crayfish at Winni

[ApS]

Originally Posted by winnipiseogee

We rarely find crawfish on Winni any more but we often find them on squam. Could it just be the amount of shore disturbance and development?

A few years ago, I found a large crayfish along my least-used shoreline. His picture is somewhere in another thread. Speaking of "shoreline disturbance", that crayfish (and I) were being hammered with huge wakes. That lone crayfish was moving especially slowly, as though fatigued.

And speaking to changing-out of species, there seems to be an increase in secretive freshwater "shrimp". This week, while handling a soft woven Ski-Doo painter (the bow line) a number of these fell out. Some were living, but the dead ones had turned lobster red. They're not very big (maybe a quarter-inch) but they're plentiful, and dine on the same foods as crayfish

Circulators around docks in winter allow shoreline crayfish to be attacked year-round by mergansers, otters, and mink predators. Islanders without circulators probably are better stocked with crayfish than mainlanders.