Crayfish Regulations

We definitely feel we should have crawfish allowed to be brought in from Louisiana! Definitely a plus for a lot of people!

A good boil is a wonderful thing. We're talking about crayfish for dinner. We need to allow the import from other states! I'm hungry for those delicious mudbugs! It's essentially financial terrorism by allowing a restaurant to buy live and sell, but not allow entrepreneurs to sell to the general public.

Please change the regulations to allow the crayfish to be brought into Colorado . Our ecosystem will not suffer because of it . Our winters and cold temps are to harsh for them to survive , plus people are paying a lot of money for them to eat them in boils , they aren’t going to dump them in our local waters or use them as bait .

Allowing the import of live crayfish in to Colorado for any reason other than use at restaurants poses an unnecessary risk to Colorado’s lakes, rivers, creeks and streams.
Restaurants are financially motivated to ensure that the crayfish they purchase never leave their premises alive, while whole frozen crayfish pose no risk and can be purchased in Colorado in some markets.
If the public is allowed to purchase live crayfish, there is no guarantee that none will be released to the wild. While some may protest that the cost of the crayfish will prevent people from releasing them, not all people are necessarily going to care. For example, children at a picnic or barbeque could potentially play with and release them into a local stream or waterbody.
It has been said that the species of crayfish in question could not survive in Colorado due to water temperature. That is essentially what we were told about zebra mussels, which have infected Highline Lake on the western slope. That lake is being drained to try to get rid of that infestation, but the majority of Colorado water bodies don’t have that option. Life is tenacious, and it should never be assumed that a fresh-water organism is incapable of survival in Colorado, especially as our climate warms.
Sure, allowing live crayfish to be sold in Colorado may make a small minority of people happy, but infestations of crayfish could potentially have negative impacts on tens of millions of people who have no desire to eat crayfish.
It's not worth the risk.

Being able to import crayfish, from Louisiana or anywhere else, for consumption, should not be illegal. Live Lobster isn't illegal, they are purchased live everyday for consumption. Why should crayfish be any different?

Most of the time I agree with CPW rules and regulations. This one I cannot. A good boil is a wonderful thing. We're talking about crayfish for dinner. The rules for catch and keep in Western Colorado are bad enough. We need to allow the import from other states! I'm hungry for those delicious mudbugs! It's essentially financial terrorism by allowing a restaurant to buy live and sell, but not allow entrepreneurs to sell to the general public.

I would like to see the crayfish allowed in the state.

Please change the regulations to allow the crayfish to be brought into Colorado . Our ecosystem will not suffer because of it . Our winters and cold temps are to harsh for them to survive , plus people are paying a lot of money for them to eat them in boils , they aren’t going to dump them in our local waters or use them as bait .

I am a Louisiana transplant and have lived in Colorado for 17 years. I have had the wonderful opportunity to have crawfish shipped to me here in Colorado on several occasions to share with friends who are Colorado natives. NEVER ever have I thought to let them go or breed them. I suggest that research be done where crawfish are legal to have and see how many people actually do anything other than boil and eat them. They are expensive, and even to the last tiny crawfish in the batch, we eat them, freeze them, or use them in after-boil recipes. I urge you to allow Louisiana crawfish to be delivered and brought into Colorado. If a non-native species can not be brought into Colorado, why are we allowing wolves? why are we allowing people (non-colorado natives) to move here? I could go on, but I digress.

I support adopting regulations that allow for this type of crawfish to be imported to Colorado, from US based producers and resellers for human consumption. Live Louisiana crawfish have been shipped into Colorado for many years, and I fully believe that the chances for a negative impact on the ecosystem are nonexistent when people are spending good money for a sack of crawfish. These crawfish a part of a lot of family traditions. They bring people together to celebrate, as well as to enjoy each other’s company. They will not be wasted, released or used as bait. Again, they are for human consumption. I understand that many things need to be considered when making this decision to review current regulations. However, just like the ban of certain fireworks in this state, if people want them, they will find a way to get them. My stance on this situation is that the state of Colorado needs to adopt regulations like our neighboring states for allowing the import of the Louisiana Red Swamp Crawfish for human consumption.

I’m an expat from the south and would love to buy crawdads! I don’t think anyone who
signs this petition has any intent to do anything other than boil those critters and eat them.

As a Colorado Native, I see no issue with importing Red Crawfish in for consumption. The fact is that the people purchasing these are spending top dollar to do so, to eat them not just set them free. As well, worse case if one or many did manage to get free and into a body of water, they would not survive the harsh Colorado winter regardless. Let them be brought in!!

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I'm from Iowa, but travel to Colorado on a regular base. I was very disappointed when we found out that we couldn't buy Crawfish from our favorite Seafood truck. The people that buy crawfish are eating them and are not letting them loose In Your waters. . You really need to update your antiquated laws. The people of Colorado deserve to be able to cook them their selfs at home. They can buy from a street vendor cheaper than they can in a restaurant and afford to feed their families .
CHANGE YOUR LAWS!
Allow the sell of White river and Red Claw Crawfish

Crayfish should be free to import for consumption. Our state has had a massive influx of people over the past couple of decades and restrictions like this prevent them from bringing and sharing their culture. Preventing the farming/raising/releasing of these animals is one thing, but restricting their consumption is just unnecessary regulation.

As a transplanted Texan I would LOVE to be able to purchase Crayfish. Allowing it to be imported to Colorado would make a lot of people very happy.

I moved to Colorado 13 years ago and I loved the fact that I could get crawfish here. People love crawfish in Colorado. It’s sad that I can go to a restaurant and get them but I can’t cook them in my backyard with family and friends. I spent all my summers in Louisiana eating crawfish with a huge family. It brings family together and makes it fun. We don’t waste expensive crawfish in Colorado or anywhere else. It’s disgusting that some can have them but the common people can’t. I urge you to allow our Louisana people to bring in crawfish to us Colorado people. I thank you for your consideration

I would like to say that the folks that do Crawfish boils here in Colorado and pay the prices we do for them Crawfish will not do ANYTHING with them other than eat them. It's a fellowship when we get together for a boil, rarely are there any Crawfish left over to even take some home. As stated by others, Crawfish in LA. have to burrow in the ground to survive La. winters, no way they could make it through a CO. winter. We want to be able to do our boils without breaking any laws. Thank you for your consideration.

Anyone who wants to have red crawdads should move to wherever red crawdads live , such as the southern states .
NO , NO , NO to red crawdads . Absolutely ridicules !

I have already read comments about how bad it would be for our ecosystem in Colorado, sadly these people do not read or realize that this is about bringing them in for consumer consumption not to add them to our lakes and rivers. Yes! Let them be brought in for consumer consumption. It is delicious and people love it! Louisiana crawfish cannot survive in our waters...it's too cold. These winters are too much for them. They have a thinner shell then Colorado Crawfish. I for one am not asking you to fill our waterways with these so I can go catch them to eat. I just want the option to buy them for a nice boil now & then. I spent 3 years in NC and we would buy these and catch our own shrimp and have boils quite often. Let them be brought in for goodness sake!

Thank you for encouraging this conversation. Our family has grown up eating boiled Louisiana crawfish. For most of my life it was when we visited my grandparents in Louisiana on annual trips to visit them. Then we discovered a company that drove them to Colorado live for us to purchase and boil ourselves. For many families like mine this is a way of life. This is about feeding our families, about culture and tradition. Doing this is also not an inexpensive experience. I’ve grown up learning that what we take from the wild we eat. Otherwise we don’t take it. People buying Louisiana crawfish whether from a truck or at a restaurant, are not doing so to place them in Colorado waterways. They are doing so to eat them. What does not get eaten the night of the boil is peeled and frozen to go in an array of many other Louisiana recipes that are delicious. No waste, no live crawfish returned to the water. We haven’t spent our hard earned money to set it free. We eat every last one of them.
The other side of this is that many of us with Louisiana connections feel it important to support small Louisiana businesses. My grandfather owned a business catching bullfrogs to sell to restaurants for frog legs. We know what it means to support small business and how important that is.
CPW, trust that those of us boiling crawfish and gathering our families to enjoy culture, tradition and Louisiana Crawfish are absolutely not compromising the Colorado ecosystems.
Thank you. Valerie Miller