Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Crawdaddy Oh!

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) have hitchhiked from Pennsylvania into northern Maryland. The crayfish are actually native to North America but not to Maryland. Officials are concerned that fishermen are spreading the crayfish southward by collecting them for bait and then dumping the leftovers when they are done fishing. The state Department of Natural Resources has joined forces with local universities to begin more intensive surveys of the invaded streams, and is asking anyone that thinks they've found a rusty crayfish to freeze it and call their hotline to report it.

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