Crayfish Regulations

Sorry to comment so late in the process, but this issue is important regarding the influx of invasive species into Colorado. If these red swamp crayfish, whether for bait or something else, are allowed to proliferate it will mean further degradation of our natural environment. Invasive species like this should be punished with a hefty fine, and bigger fine and mandatory jail time on a repeat offense. It may seem a hard position, but our natural environment deserves protection. Thanks for the opportunity to comment.

We've always purchased from A&A Seafood and been responsible with our purchases. We have a hard time understanding why some local businesses are able to sell or purchase live crayfish, but out of State vendors are excluded. Is this a tax thing? These regulations seem to give the ability for these local businesses to become a monopoly and control pricing. Unjust.

I’m not a native to Colorado. In fact, I am from a military family and I have lived in almost every state in the south, including Louisiana. When I moved to Colorado, I was happy that I was still able to experience crawfish. Over the past several years, being able to have my own crawfish boils makes me feel at home. Crawfish season is something that I always look forward to. Colorado is such an amazing place and I believe that allowing crawfish to be for sold for consumption purposes only, is important. Give that we are a military town, and there are so many people from all over the nation that are stationed here, it would be nice to have a part of southern culture here. I hope you consider allowing crawfish to be sold here, for consumption only.

I don’t understand what the issue is! Does Colorado feel the need to get their hands in everything? Why can’t people just run a legit business and provide for the people?
This is a great way for us to get our fresh crawfish for Louisiana! They sell it at Asian Pacific Market, but I don’t see a big deal about them selling crawfish.
I have purchased for A&A Seafood sales numerous times and it’s always been fresh. As a military family that has moved often and explored multiple cuisines, crawfish are one of our favorites.
Let the people enjoy great fresh crawfish from LA!
People have a choice to buy or not to buy! Let that choice continue to be theirs!

I say “yes” please!

My family and friends enjoy these crawfish specifically. I strongly believe businesses should be able to import red crawfish into colorado. The recent crackdown on crawfish is not what the people want. So many people rely on certain businesses for this delicacy and there needs to be a way to continue this.

We love the live crayfish. If you want people to be aware of the harm it could cause to release them ask vendors to post a notice so people are aware it’s illegal to use for anything but consumption and fine violators. It seems silly to ruin people’s businesses and family traditions

Simply said let’s make this happen. They’re already here anyway! And they’re being sold here anyway too it seems! It’s good for the local community! And that’s a good thing!

I hope CPW does its due diligence to make sure Louisiana crawfish can even make it through a CO winter before making their import illegal. I was simply rinsing them with hose water in April and killed HALF of them from the cold water. I can't even imagine what actual freezing temps would do.

Secondly, these suckers are expensive!! Like really, really expensive. About $5-6 a pound and the average adult can eat about 3-5 lbs. For a 30-person boil that's about $500-$900 just on crawfish alone! I don't know anyone in their right mind who would let them go in waterways and absolutely no one is using them for bait. No one.

I absolutely understand not wanting another invasive species here, but due diligence is key!

Also, can we have the approval of harvesting the invasive species of crawfish (the rusty crawfish) approved or at leat considered? If it is an evasive species to Colorado...why are they protected? Why not let the people help the efforts of CPW by collecting these crawfish for consumption? You've done it with certain other species in our waterways...so I'm not sure why this specifies is being protected if it's evasive...

I want them to become legal for consumption in Colorado. I've been eating them for years and I'm not really keen on scalped prices due to regulation. One in which, isn't going to change the potentiality of the concerns this law was intended for. I usually buy a nice big bad of crayfish from local store for about 12 bucks. But ever since the crackdown happen, that's shifted the priceses of products of crawfish by almost a 50% increase because of demand and price gouging. So please make it so the law isn't putting undue pressure on the residents who consume the crawfish for food purposes.

I am absolutely opposed to allowing live crayfish impotartion to Colorado. It is incredible to me that you could even countenance such an insult to your charter, I have lost all respect for CPW.

In my previous comment under issue 7), "conceived hardship" should be perceived hardship.

When I heard that CPW was considering revision of the regulations regarding the transporting, importation and possession of Red Swamp Crayfish (RSC) in response to currently illegal importation of that species, I thought that was clearly a bad idea but, prior to commenting on that proposal, I thought I should review the available information about the RSC, the history and current state of Colorado aquatic ecology with respect to RSC and any other applicable information found in that search. I also looked over several pages of comments that had already been submitted for possible insights I might have not considered or not found through my Internet searches.

From that effort, I conclude that the risks of ecological impacts from accidental or intentional release outweigh the benefit to the few who enjoy cooking and eating them from live shipments. My basis for that conclusion is based on these facts:

1) The Red Swamp Crayfish is an opportunistic omnivore that is both ecologically adaptive and resilient; tolerant of temperatures from 0-35 C, salinity up to 35 ppt (unique in crayfish), relatively low dissolved oxygen above 3 ppm, pH range of 5.8-10 and of some pollution. Adaptation to these conditions and the existence of RSC in all the surrounding states of Colorado, with the exception of Wyoming, demonstrate that the RSC is readily capable of becoming established as a non-native and invasive species in Colorado.

2) Colorado is one of the few states in the country where the RSC has not been found as a non-native species and, in many cases, as an invasive nuisance species. It has also been established as a non-native and invasive species throughout Europe, China, northern, central and southern Africa and throughout South America.

3) Where it has become an invasive species; the RSC has predated on native crayfish species and consumed the eggs of amphibians and the endangered razorback sucker, a Colorado native; not only outcompeted native crayfish species, but also dragonfly nymphs and some amphibians; reduced native plant density; disrupted native ecosystems; it’s a known vector of: the crayfish “plague” fungus and crayfish virus as well as several parasitic worms of vertebrates; and its burrows have damaged rice fields outside its native range, damaged levees, dams, water control devices and structures as well as caused shoreline erosion.

4) The RSC has been both accidentally and intentionally released into non-native habitat from or by: shipments intended for human consumption, fishermen using it as bait, aquarium enthusiasts and specimens originating from scientific supply companies. If importation of RSC becomes legal, any or all of these sources of introduction to Colorado waters would become more likely.

5) At least one non-native crayfish species, the Rusty Crayfish, has become an invasive nuisance in Colorado.

6) The establishment of fines, even if extremely high, under a system that allowed the importation of RSC, could do nothing to mitigate or control RSC once it became established as another non-native and/or invasive crayfish species.

7) The arguments for changing the CPW regulations are based on the inconvenience or conceived hardship of not being allowed to import the live RSC to personally cook and eat. There is no potential economic benefit to Colorado, (except to individuals for the convenience of legal personal consumption), including by future commercial production of the species via aquaculture, as this is not under consideration (if even economically viable).

While these facts provide a foundation of arguments to oppose revision of the CPW regulations for the Red Swamp Crayfish, the Rusty Crayfish has already been established as a non-native and invasive species in Colorado. Perhaps CPW should consider revision of their regulations regarding the possession and transport of the Rusty Crayfish as a means of limiting its further proliferation by encouraging human consumption of THAT established invasive crayfish in Colorado.

If we can’t rely on CPW to protect Colorado from the potential harmful effects of yet another invasive species, how can Coloradans believe that CPW takes their mandate seriously to protect our native species and natural ecosystems?

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important issue.

I do not understand this seems ludicrous. First you say it has been a law for decades, then you say since 2009. Which is it. The crawfish you are talking about are brought into the state to be consumed not to be used as bait. This just seems like some type of control mechanism with no real reason for it, other than you want to do it and derive some kind of revenue from it.

Unless there is reason to believe Red Swamp Crayfish are somehow detrimental beyond what the Rusty Crayfish is, why ban their import when people are only wanted them to eat them? Furthermore, the Rusty Crayfish is already in every lake, pond, creek, river and irrigation ditch in Western Colorado- making it illegal to transport a crawfish from a pond to my house when the river is less than 500 yards from either one (and crayfish migrate at night well beyond that distance) is pretty ridiculous. If you want crayfish under control, REMOVE the ban on transport so people can actually EAT them. You can NOT safely eat dead-boiled crayfish. They need to be kept alive to get to the boiling pot! Your policy literally does the most damage to the endeavor to control crayfish populations. Remove the restrictions. Let people harvest crawfish for their family dinner table. Your efforts to control the spread of crayfish have already failed miserably. You're doing nothing but exhibiting a domineering attitude towards the people of Colorado, and being duplicitous and inconstant at the same time. You've lost/failed. Let it go already.

Unless CPW can provide real evidence that red crawfish are somehow detrimental to our ecosystem in ways that rusty crawfish are not, then it is really pretty silly to say out-of-state crawfish are a problem. I grew up half in Western Colorado, and half in South Louisiana. I happen to love eating crawfish. Growing up in Ridgway, Colorado, I can ASSURE YOU that every creek, every pond, every lake and every river already has crawfish in them. My understanding (from reading the Red Swamp Crayfish Factsheet) is that this particular species is prolific in SLOWER waters with less powerful flows, and is not particularly well-adapted to higher elevations. So it seems the fears of their release into our ecosystem is significantly overblown. Moreover, the law against transporting Rusty Crayfish within the state of Colorado is also a bit bonkers. You do understand, I hope, that crawfish are supposed to be kept ALIVE until cooked, right? You people want less crawfish in the waters, including the rusty crawfish, but you won't let people harvest them to eat! This is absurd. As I said- there's already in literally every body of water in Western Colorado, from the Blue Mesa Reservoir, Ridgway Reservoir, Billy Creek Pond, the Uncompahgre River, Dallas Creek, the Colorado River, Highline Lake, ALL the James Robb lakes/ponds, Miramonte Reservoir, Buckhorn Lakes, Buckeye Lakes... That's just the ones I know from my own personal observation contain crawfish. But if Crawfish are in the Uncompahgre River and the Colorado River, exactly HOW do you think you're containing them? Simple answer- you're NOT. You CAN'T. The only thing that is going to contain the crayfish in Colorado are the higher elevations and faster currents; and even that is not a given. You're fighting a battle that is pointless, and has already been lost, and at the same time, you're removing every hungry mouth that would help your efforts by criminalizing the transport of these animals, when the river transports them already. You all that promote this policy are too smart by half for your own good. I can catch enough crawfish in a roadside pond to feed my entire family of 7 in a day, but I can't take the bounty home... even though the river (that already contains the crawfish) follows the road that leads to my house. I have crawfish in the irrigation ditch that provides water for my lawn on west Orchard Mesa. I pulled half a dozen rusty crayfish from my irrigation pump filter this year. The RIVER can quite literally transport crawfish to my irrigation system from a hundred miles away, but I cannot reduce the crawfish population to feed my family because CPW wants to flex their powers of control. The only thing you're controlling is people. You're not controlling the crawfish. The law against transporting live crawfish in Colorado is, in the simplest terms, dumb and pointless. That is the summary of my comments. Sincerely, Richard Lyon (a Rocky Mountain Colorado Cajun).

Yes on importing red swamp crayfish into Colorado. Eat more crawfish!

Here's another vote for legalizing the import of live crawfish. I care deeply about preserving our ecosystems, but there's little potential for imported crawfish to become an invasive species. They go from LA to CO in less than 24 hours and then into a boiling pot as soon as possible.

I have been going to crawfish boils or having them myself for over forty years and have not seen bringing in red swamp crawfish to be a problem.Please take them off your list of banned species