North Yorkshire Crayfish Forum

Protecting white-clawed crayfish

The North Yorkshire Crayfish Forum, hosted by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, was founded in 2019 and is made up of various organisations including government agencies, national parks and conservation charities, all with a passion to protect the remaining white-clawed crayfish populations in North Yorkshire.

The forum meets at least 3 times a year to discuss information and progress on key common work areas. This facilitates the coordination of crayfish efforts across the county, promoting communication, collaboration, and partnership development.

Our key aims

Establish distribution status of white-clawed and invasive alien crayfish, monitor and keep up to date.

Work collaboratively to prioritise actions, increase efficiency and effectiveness and to maximise resources and impact.

Stop further spread of invasive alien crayfish and crayfish plague, through improved biosecurity measures and other interventions where effective and practical, to minimise future losses of white-clawed crayfish.

Ensure that ark sites, waterbodies and catchments with white-clawed crayfish populations are thriving and biosecure

Ensure that recreational river users and workers are aware of and follow biosecurity/ Check Clean Dry procedures through the delivery of a county-wide biosecurity campaign.

Promote the importance of white-clawed crayfish and intact river ecosystems through the development and delivery of communication and education strategies.

Develop a central hub where ideas, resources and expertise are shared and used, and through which we influence regional and national decision-making

How we're protecting white-clawed crayfish

Delivery plan

A 5-year delivery plan (2022 -2027) was created to outline actions to achieve the aims and objectives in the North Yorkshire Crayfish Forum’s strategy. The plan pulled together crayfish related projects from across North Yorkshire, identifying how they contribute to achieving the overall strategy and finding gaps where projects need to be developed.

The delivery plan is now used as a basis for monitoring progress to strategic aims at each forum meeting. It will also be a useful tool for partners to influence decision making and assist in organisations’ funding applications.

Current work and what’s next

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has received further funding from Yorkshire Water until March 2025 to continue work outlined in North Yorkshire Crayfish Forum’s 5 Year Delivery Plan, including hosting of the forum.

Other work includes creation of a communication and engagement strategy, monitoring crayfish populations, training days and producing a portfolio or ark site case studies. Funding from Natural England’s Species Recovery Fund has also been secured until March 2023, focusing on a North Yorkshire hatchery feasibility study and ark site identification.