Abstract

The traditional cylindrical crayfish traps are used in Sweden both for commercial fishery and also in the standardised sampling methodology when monitoring crayfish populations. There are different opinions about how well the catch in the traps actually represent the true population in the lake and how to best manage a fishery to obtain the maximum yield. Few studies have systematically investigated these topics and thus there is little scientifically based knowledge and advice available. To try to answer some of the questions we video filmed, from dusk to dawn, the behaviour of crayfish around a baited trap, set in ponds with known crayfish population density and structure. We recorded the behaviour of individuals, which crayfish were in the trap every hour of the night, the order in which the crayfish entered and escaped, and the structure of the catch relative to the structure of the population. Parts of the result will be shown in a short video film and the result will also be discussed in relation to the accuracy of monitoring and when to lift the traps in order to get a good catch.

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