Crayfish Regulations

I ❤️ crawfish

Don't make crawfish illegal

I do crawfish boils every year. I order mine from Louisiana. I have never had any escape from the pot. I do not practice catch and release. All get eaten and enjoyed. Louisiana crawfish will no survive in Colorado's cold water.

Maybe we should stop making every drug known to man legal. More important things to worry about than people eating crawfish. Let's utilize some common sense.

The cost of crawfish coming from Louisiana should deter anyone from wanting to use them for anything other than consumption. More research should be done to see if they could even survive in CO with the cold winter climate. I don't see anyone using them for bait or throwing them in waterways and should be like anything else met with a very stiff fine. Records of sale could be sent to CPW from the suppliers and of these crawfish are found in waterways nearby the cow could question anyone who purchased around those areas. Or CPW could require a permit like some other states to purchase crawfish for consumption and be a case by case basis of amount of crawfish, amount of guests eating crawfish, consumption time, etc

We have been getting crawfish for several years from Louisiana, we boil all of them and have never considered throwing them in waterways. Also there has been word that they cannot survive the winters, and honestly a little more research would be good to see if they can can or cannot survive. But for the cost of crawfish I don’t see anyone using them for fishing or just to put them in waterways.

I've been here for 10 years and we've had crawfish boils every year. None of the crawfish we've brpught in have ever made it out alive. That is, we go through the trouble and expense to bring them in so we eat every one of them.

To the folks that think they're going to escape and become invasive, you should know that those Louisiana crawfish would not survive in the cold Colorado winters. To the people that don't believe that, think of all of the tropical aquatic species of freshwater fish that you can go down to the aquarium store and buy. There are plenty of non-native species for sale there. Why do they get a pass and crawfish are outlawed? You can't let some people get away with importing non-native aquatic species and not others.

I think it's worth a try. I don't have any well thought out ideas like some of the other fine people here, but I love eating crayfish/crawdads and I think it would also be good for commerce.

They are expensive when we can get them here and they are delicious. No one is going to spend that kind of money to let them loose in waterways. Being swamp dwellers our winters would kill them anyway.

I’m not sure I follow the logic of bringing a non-indigenous species into Colorado. Crawfish propagate quickly and this would seem illogical to me. I vote ‘No’. This falls in line with other policies related to aquatic policies in Colorado. I don’t see how this is different.

If people could be trusted to be responsible, this would be fine. Unfortunately they can't and the risks of introducing potentially invasive species into our waterways to wreak havoc on our landscape far outweigh the possible rewards. If you want to eat crawfish, go visit LA or TX and eat them. No sense in jeopardizing Colorado's ecosystems and habitats for such a ridiculous reason.

I live in Colorado, but I was born and raised in southern Louisiana. I don’t think these red swamp crawfish are invasive. If these crawfish were allowed to populate certain waterways of Colorado, they would make for a great pass time outdoor activity to fish them. Also, they would be fished if the state were to allow it. I’m not the only Cajun who lives in this state. Also, it would allow for another source of income for individuals looking to be self employed, and another source of tax for the state. Also, given all the Cajun restaurants throughout the state, importation would not be necessary, because they could be bought locally. If Colorado is concerned about the ecosystem, then I would suggest private Crawfish farms. We have plenty of them in Louisiana that provide crawfish to the entire country.

what about all us Louisiana transplants.. why cant we have crawfish? we wont let any go in the lakes or ponds or streams.. we'll eat all of them. i guarantee

A follow up to my first comment saying that my family does crawfish boils but thinking that we do need to keep non-native species that could become invasive here: many others who do crawfish boils think we should allow them because with proper handling they can't escape. And that's true. But it's hard to hold everyone else to the same standard we hold our individual selves too. Look at invasive snakes in Florida. Those are pets that are either purposely or accidentally let loose. I'd love to say people won't do the same with crawfish, but unfortunately we can't be sure. There must be a reason we're having this conversation, right? It's because it's already an issue. And even if they were allowed in with the caveat that intentional or unintentional release would result in fines, that's unenforceable.

My family has a crawfish boil every Easter, but I'm also worried about the destruction done by invasive species. In the end, I think there should be a ban on importing non-native species. We would find another way to have our fun.

I say allow it.

My opinion is that regulation should remain as it is. There are already many invasive species that threaten the ecosystem, Colorado doesn’t need another just because a few people use them for their advantage and don’t care about native species only their interest.

Invasive species that will cause problems in the future. No Mud Bugs!

I believe that after decades of bucket biologists wrecking native waterways by introducing their favorite critter, legitimate biologists should understand that this is a very foolish consideration. Deliberately introducing non-native aquatic species, or at least lifting the prohibition of the act, will absolutely have a ripple effect of negative consequences that may not be fully understood for years. Caving to the people who want to catch crayfish for a boil and allowing them to bring in their choice species undermines the effort of CPW for the past 50 years to keep native ecosystems healthy. I thought this was an April Fool's joke when I first saw it. Please, we know better than to introduce these non-natives. Trust your biologists, surely they are resistant to this notion.

Without any evidence that live crawfish imported for consumption have been established in our waterways with adverse consequences, the ban is unreasonable.

As stated in the link attached, other surround states have regulations in place that allow for this type of crawfish for human consumption within a certain timeframe. Seeing as how this has not posed a risk to the ecosystem, Colorado should adopt this same type of regulation. Live Louisiana crawfish have been shipped into Colorado for many years for consumption. With the information provided in the facts sheet attached, there have been no reported negative impacts on the ecosystem as a result. It goes on to talk about crawfish conditions for living and surging which are not compatible with Colorado temperatures. Regulation efforts thus far from CPW have looked like going after certain individuals while other businesses have been able to continue business as usual with boils. A lot needs to be considered in this decision. The most practical answer is legalization with regulations for consumption like our neighboring states.