Cavan anglers warned of Crayfish plague

The National Biodiversity Data Centre (NBDC) has warned anglers in the Cavan waterways to ensure they follow biodiversity protocols in order to protect the local rivers from a crayfish plague. The plague is a fungus that threatens the Irish natural crayfish population and can be easily spread through river systems through the use of infected fishing gear or even boots. The plague has been detected in a number of waterways across Ireland and may have entered the Irish system through contaminated equipment from other EU countries. The Marine institute has said the plague is harmless to humans but a major risk to the Irish crayfish population. The fungus was discovered in the river Bruskey as far back as 2015. Cavan is one of only six counties across Ireland where the fungus has been detected.

In addition to the warning around the spread of Crayfish-plague the NBDC has identified the first non-indigenous species of crayfish in Ireland. There has always been a concern that a non indigenous species may become established in here and this has now been confirmed by the discovery of a population of an Australian Crayfish, the Yabby, Cherax destructor. NPWS are working at the site to assess the size of the population. The location is not being disclosed at this time.