Crayfish Regulations
CPW presented background information, potential regulation changes, and results of public input at the August 24-25 Parks and Wildlife Commission (PWC) meeting.
The PWC approved the final regulations related to red swamp crayfish at their November 16-17, 2023 meeting, effective January 1st, 2024.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife now allows the importation, transportation, and possession of live red swamp crayfish in Colorado for human consumption, provided the following conditions are met:
No person may possess an individual of the species alive for more than 72 hours.
Any person who possesses the species alive must have:
a copy of an importation license that authorizes the importation of the crayfish in the person’s possession; and
a receipt or delivery confirmation reflecting the date the person took possession of the crayfish.
This regulation change will primarily impact businesses that import crayfish into Colorado and should have minimal impact on the average consumer. In most cases, the business importing live crayfish will apply for the importation license and a copy of the approved license must accompany the shipment of crayfish. Consumers buying live crayfish from an in-state vendor will receive a copy of the importation license along with the required receipt. Consumers buying cooked crayfish from a restaurant will be unaffected.
Importation licenses are available per calendar year through CPWShop.com.
Specific changes to Chapter W-0 can be found on page 8 with additional info on page 29 of this document: https://cpw.widen.net/view/pdf/kozqsvnt78/Item.11-W-0_Final.pdf?u=xyuvvu
The importation of most live crayfish species remains illegal in Colorado. The importation of many live aquatic species is illegal due to the threat they can pose to our aquatic resources (e.g. rusty crayfish, New Zealand mudsnails, zebra/quagga mussels, etc.).
Who's Listening
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Assistant Chief of Law Enforcement
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Assistant Aquatic Section Manager
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Public Involvement Specialist
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Public Involvement Specialist
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Policy and Planning Project Manager
Do it. It’s over a billion dollar industry. As much as people consume that should help keep overpopulation under control.
Help me understand... You have a regulation in place for over 10 years and now you are soliciting feedback on it?! KEEP THE REGULATION IN PLACE to help prevent this invasive species but start enforcing it! Stop kowtowing to fishermen that want everything easy and the "take, take, take" mentality too many of them have.
I've been buying crayfish in Denver for quite some time and cook them at home. I had no idea I was breaking the law. If a store has live ones for sale, I just assumed they were legal. Even locally, I see restaurants having crayfish boils with live sacks. I also belong to Crayster's Colorado Crawfish Reports, a facebook page dedicated to wild caught crayfishing in Colorado. I certainly can understand that a person could easily buy live ones and then be a bucket biologist. So I'm torn. I enjoy buying my crayfish and eating them.
As a former senior aquatic biologist for the Division of Wildlife, I am writing to strongly urge CPW to prohibit the import of red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) into Colorado. There is real risk of irrreparable damage to aquatic ecosystems in Colorado if this non-native crayfish is imported and then gets released into the environment. Little is known about how the red swamp crayfish will interact with native aquatic species in Colorado, and given this uncertainty, it is far better to err on the side of caution and prohibit its import, at least until conclusive research is done to determine what the impacts of this species may be.
Rarely ever does introducing a species of anything -plants, trees, wildlife or aquatic- that isn't native to an area, go well. The laws of unintended consequences usually comes into play.
Don't do it.