Crawfish Or Crayfish... Farm

[Dakhar]

I would like to start a crayfish, crawfish farm. Trouble is, I don't know where to find the little critters to begin with. They are in China, but I have yet to see one here. Anyone have any ideas?

[Sulaphat]

I think Doug Harrison, the proprietor of Bourbon Street Restaurant, has his own local source of live crawfish. I think he may also be involved in the farming operation to some extent, but am not sure.

He may or may not be willing to share trade secrets with a potential competitor, but no harm in asking.

[Maizefarmer]

Presume you mean as in marine/saltwater crawfish.

The differance between them and lobster as some know is that crayfish/crawfish do not have pinchers, but taste just as good in the pot.

Getting stock - a few trips on a rented Thai long boat off any Thai beach with some scuba gear will get you well on your way. Thats the easy part.

Presume you are going to be setting up this project at or very near the coast re: ample supply of seawater - or is this a fresh water project, as in the small Australian freshwater crayfish. There is an Australian guy in Saraburi area who breeds the freshwater variety and has quite a good local trade.

Tim

[SnakeBite]

Just a quick one on this, check with the owner of Bourbon Street, Sukhumvit Soi 22 or send me a pm and I'll send his name and number.

[Dakhar]

I don't think the owner of Burbon Street is going to give up his trade secretss

We have the land, we have the appropriate ponds, and I grew up in Bayous of Tx and Lousiana. I have got swamp water in my viens.

Thailand would be a great place for these mud bugs, and I do mean the freshwater variety. They eat anything, live in this type of climate, and don't demand the cleanest of water. Truth be known, they are raised in rice fields back home. Which Thailand has an abundance of.

I am surprised I have not seen crawfisn. My wife loves to eat them back home, I figure they could do well here too. China happens to be the largest exporter of crawfish to America. Which is really no suprise considering our trade deficit. (but that is another topic)

Secondly, when cooked well, they are a great alternative to shrimp, and you would not have to destroy land to raise them, unlike salt water shrimp farms.

[Maizefarmer]

Of course you have made the observation that Thais do use rice paddies for salt water shrimps (and mess the land up in the process).

Question has to be if fresh water shrimps were going to have a market (versus salt water variety) - why hasnt it caught on to date?

Is it really as simple as just filing up the paddy with water so you have "swamp", throwing in your stock and harvesting a few months later - what are the expenses associated with setting up a project like this?

Tim

Edited October 9, 2006 by Maizefarmer

[LoveDaBlues]

I grew up in southern Mississippi and YES Thailand would be perfect for raising crawfish. However I think it would only work for personal consumption unless you were close to a bigger city and had a few 'specialty' restaurants to buy your crop. Otherwise you would have to figure out a way to market them to the Thai's.

Crawfish are way better than the farm-raised shrimp you can get here.

Actually, crawfish have long been my favorite thing to eat; too bad I can't get any here.

[Dakhar]

LoveDaBlues,

Oh you can get them, freshly cooked at Burbon Street in BKK. I think they have two restaraunts now.

Check their site, you wil find more info. The place is amazingly authentic considering it is in Thailand.

As you know, fresh crawfish are the only way to eat these things. I can't stand the flavor of imported ones back home! Although imported Tiger Shrimp from Thailand was always good back home.

Back up to the topic.... Brooding stock where and how? I am guessing the only person that has first hand knowledge is Burbon Street.

If it is was for personal consumption, I would still love to have some.

[Dakhar]

Of course you have made the observation that Thais do use rice paddies for salt water shrimps (and mess the land up in the process).

Question has to be if fresh water shrimps were going to have a market (versus salt water variety) - why hasnt it caught on to date?

Is it really as simple as just filing up the paddy with water so you have "swamp", throwing in your stock and harvesting a few months later - what are the expenses associated with setting up a project like this?

Tim

Oh it is pretty darn simple. Crawfish can eat plant vegetation or flesh. They don't care either way. What they do back home is harvest a rice field, fill it with water, and let the crawfish it the chaff or rice plant stubbs. I have heard that in China they feed the crawfish dog food, and I believe it. If you have ever eaten an imported crawfish, you would too.

But, in China's defense crawfish do grow at a more rapid pace if you feed them protien (flesh). They are a hardy animal and they like the temparatures here. You could actually "Poly culture" the things in a fish pond if one wanted too. But if the fish like the flavor of the crawfish.... well things could get more difficult. (and the fish back home do like to eat crawfish)

I have no doubt they would thrive here.

I just need to get my hands on brooding stock.

As far as your question why they have not caught on here.... It is a cultural thing. Chopsticks are useful, but you don't see every body using them. Heck in America, Crawfish despite their excellent flavor, are not eaten across the entire country. It is mostly a regional, "cultuaral" cousine. But they are great, and like I said they would be a great alternative to shrimp.

Edited October 10, 2006 by Dakhar

[Bizz]

1. The Issue

On 18 May 1994, The European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered case C-131/93 in which the European Commission sued the Federal Republic of Germany for initiating a ban on live crayfish imports. The ban of 1 August 1989 was a response to the fungal disease (Aphanomyces astaci) commonly known as the crayfish plague, spread mainly by the incorporation of alien species of crayfish. The German law required an import license to be obtained before live crayfish could be imported into Germany. Even with such a license, crayfish could be imported only for research and teaching purposes. This adversely affected eight to ten German firms engaged in the importation and distribution of live crayfish. A conditional exemption was, therefore, provided allowing the importation of crayfish for a limited time. The exemption required that the precise quantity, the country of origin and species name be specified. The Commission argued that such restrictions were in violation with the EC Treaty because it established import bans against member states. The ECJ agreed with the Commission and found the ban meant that Germany was not fulfilling its obligations of the EC treaty.

2. Description

The decapods called crayfish, otherwise known as crawfish or crawdads, are freshwater crustaceans (although a few species of crayfish live in brackish or salt water). They are closely related to and resemble the lobster and usually range in size from 3/4 of an inch to 16 inches. The average crayfish is usually 3 inches long, however some species found in Tasmania can be as large as 40 centimeters long and weigh up to 8 pounds. Crayfish are found in every continent except Africa and Antarctica and flourish in the temperate areas of the Americas and Eurasia. More than half or more of the 500 species are indigenous to North America. Crayfish are nocturnal and feed on all kinds of vegetation and animal food including snails, small fish, tadpoles, young insects and insect larvae and worms. Crayfish, however, are generally regarded as grazers and scavengers. Most crayfish live in lakes, ponds, reservoirs, rivers and streams where they often conceal themselves under rocks or logs. Others live in swampy places or wet meadows where they live in burrows. Some of the burrowing habits of crayfish have been known to destroy crop land or weaken levees and milldams.Crayfish are considered to be a delicious delicacy to both humans and other animals as they are often used as bait and are an important element in the diet of many animals such as the eel, trout, pike, chub, perch, otter and mink. In the United States, large numbers are raised on fish farms.

In many parts of the world, crayfish are consumed in large numbers by humans. In Europe consumption is high, therefore, it is not surprising that the spread and increasing severity of the crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci) has been of great concern to Europeans, as they have seen the numbers of native crayfish dwindling. Recent studies have shown that the crayfish plague is not indigenous to Europe, rather it was introduced by the incorporation of new species of crayfish from the Americas. The three species commonly imported to Europe from the Americas are Orconectes limosus, Pacifastacus leniusculus and Procambarus clarkii.

Orconectes limosus is indigenous to the great rivers of the interior basin of the United States specifically the Missouri, the Mississippi, and the Ohio rivers. However, it can also be found in the northern part of Texas to Canada and from Kansas to the Appalachian Mountains. (Hobbs, 1942, 153) Procambarus clarkii can be found in the southern United States from Texas to South Carolina with its origin in the southern part of Alabama and Georgia. (Hobbs, 1942, 99-100) Pacifastacus leniusculus is commonly known as the signal crayfish and is a native to the northwestern United States and Western Canada. This is an ideal crayfish for importation since it is larger than most European species and just as tasty. In addition, the signal crayfish is easy to culture, reaches sexual maturity earlier and grows quicker than European Crayfish.(Marren, 1986, 46)

Figure 1

No one is really sure how infected American crayfish were originally introduced to Europe. Some speculate that they entered by means of Italy from the release of ballast waters from a North American ship. Others claim that American crayfish, which are often carriers of the plague, were originally introduced as a food species. (Marren, 1986, 46) In actuality it does not matter how American crayfish or the crayfish plague were introduced into Europe. The fact is that once introduced, the deadly plague has spread rather quickly. After its original introduction c.1860 in Seligo Italy it ravaged north to both France and Germany and had been discovered in Sweden by 1907, Spain in 1958, Norway in 1971, Great Britain in 1981, Turkey in 1984, and Ireland by 1987. (Taugbol, 1993, 75)

It is thought that the plague is spread by both natural diffusion and by gradual movement over several generations. It has also spread by means of jump dispersal or movement over great distances. This often involves other animals transplanting the fungus. (Workshop:The Problem) An example would be anglers (fishermen) who use live crayfish as bait, (Reynolds, 1988, 283) feeding mink, raccoon, otter and migrating waterfowl also might transport the plague. The disease can also be spread without the actual introduction of an individual. The transfer of boats between lakes and the movement of hunters and fishermen are thought to transmit the fungus. Once the actual fungus is introduced into a waterway, it spreads quickly and without assistance. The natural movement of the water will transport the spores downstream and infected crayfish will move the disease upstream. Terrestrial animals, bathing, fishing and boating activities will also accelerate the diffusion of the plague. (Taugbol, 1991, 81)

The plague has all but eliminated many of the native European crayfish. Among the species in question belong to the genus Astacus and include Astacus leptodactylus, Astacus pachypus, Astacus torrentium, Astacus astacus and Austropotamobius pallipes. Astacus astacus and Austropotamobius pallipes are the most notable of these species. Austropotamobius pallipes is otherwise known as the white-clawed crayfish, and is the most common in Europe. Astacus astacus is commonly known as the noble crayfish and is the largest of the European freshwater species of crayfish. This is the species of crayfish most coveted in Europe as most Europeans consider it to be the most delicious of all the native species. (Marren, 1986, 46)

The crayfish plague is actually a fungus which is nutritionally dependent on these decapods. (Unestam, 1969, 4) It is difficult to identify until the actual death of the crayfish. Physical signs of the plague can be detected on the corpses of rotting individuals on the banks of waterways. The most notable of the physical signs of Aphanomyces astaci is woolly puffs of fungal threads which appear between the abdominal segments of the individual. There are, however, other less subtle ways of detecting an infestation of the plague.Perhaps the most obvious of such indications is a rapid and total extermination of crayfish stocks. Changes in behavior can also be observed. Infected crayfish, who are normally nocturnal, begin to wonder into broad daylight where they appear dazed, disoriented, and confused.(Marren, 1986, 46) Many of these staggering decapods leave the water altogether.Sadly, native European crayfish have not been able to develop resistant strains in spite of an enormous selection pressure. (Unestam, 1969, 4)

The plague has had serious implications to the ecology of European waterways. There is a real danger that native species of crayfish will disappear altogether. (Marren, 1986, 48) This has already happened in countries such as Sweden where entire native crayfish populations were totally eradicated within weeks or months after infestation. By 1969, it was estimated that 50% of the Swedish waters which were once home to native crayfish have lost their inhabitants due to this devastating plague. (Unestam, 1969, 4) Since crayfish are such an important part of the diet of mammals and fish such as the trout, pike, chub and perch, the fishing industry has suffered and lakes have become weedy and turbid. Overgrown waterways have disturbed the natural habit of fish, making them no longer suitable to sustain them. (Marren, 1986, 48)

People originally did not know what caused the crayfish plague, an obvious solution to the problem of the plague was to restock the native species with similar disease free crayfish from North America. These North American crayfish, particularly the signal crayfish appeared to have a high resistance to the plague. What was not known at the time was that these new inductees ware carriers of the fungus. They harbored the disease in a chronic or latent infection and functioned as a vector for the disease. (Taugbol, 1993, 81) Although Europe enjoyed short term benefits from these new crayfish including socioeconomic, commercial, recreational and biological value, many were unaware of the long term effects. Not only did the signal crayfish carry the disease, they posed other serious threats to the noble crayfish. The signal crayfish are more aggressive than the noble crayfish, which made itself apparent in competition and interbreeding which led to sterile hybrids. (Marren, 1986, 48) The signal crayfish also has a different susceptibility to predation than the native noble crayfish.

On August 1, 1989, The Federal Republic of Germany prohibited the importation of crayfish for commercial purposes. In particular, Germany prohibited crayfish importation for consumption or for release into private waters. They were concerned about water pollution but more concerned about the effects of the crayfish plague. Germany cited Paragraph 21b of the BUNDESNATURSCHUTZGESETZ (law on the Protection of Nature) which protected endangered species within Germany. Previously, Germany had imported tens of thousands of kilograms of live freshwater crayfish a year so the prohibition of crayfish importation had serious implications for international trade.

The European Commission stated that such a prohibition on the importation of crayfish was incompatible with Articles 30 and 36 of the EC treaty as it discriminates against member states. Article 30 of the EC treaty states that

Quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect shall, without prejudice to the following provisions, be prohibited between Member States.(Rudden, 1996, 36-38)

Article 36 of the EC treaty states that

The provisions of Articles 30 to 34 shall not preclude prohibitions on imports, exports or goods in transit justified on grounds of public morality, public policy or public security; the protection of health and life of humans, animals or plants; the protection of national treasures possessing artistic, historic or archaeological value; or the protection of industrial and commercial property. Such prohibitions or restrictions shall not, however, constitute a means of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between member states. (Rudden, 1996, 36-38)

The Commission did not deny the risk of plague or the need to protect native fauna. However they felt that the German law went further than necessary or appropriate to achieve these aims. In their view, the ban was an absolute ban on crayfish importation and therefore a ban solely for economic reasons. The Commission contended that the real aim of the ban was to protect German industry from competition within the European Union. They cited a similar French law which prohibited the importation of live crayfish only from non member countries. These laws might offer a non-discriminatory alternative in the form of licensing systems for the release of freshwater crayfish into the wild. In their view such a laws are more than appropriate since they aim to protect native fauna without discriminating against other member states of the European Union.

The European Court of Justice agreed with the Commission, saying that the Federal Republic of Germany failed to fulfill its obligation under ARTICLE 30 and ARTICLE 36 of the EC treaty, stating that their goals could have been achieved by measures with less restrictive effects. They found that health checks could have been imposed to ensure the health of imported crayfish. Such health checks would require the issuing of health certificates. Moreover, the Court found that measures could have been taken such as ones initiated in France. In short, they found that trade restrictions would not exclude the risk to transmission of the plague.

The introduction of non native crayfish into Europe has, thus, had dramatic effects. Not only have they introduced and spread a fatal fungus to the native population, they also have disrupted the host community, reduced biological diversity, disrupted the host environment and community, and provided a now permanent source of spores for plague fungus. This in turn has caused a reduction in fish stock and slower growth of local fisheries, changed the diet of indigenous mammals and has had negative commercial implications within Europe. One might conclude that all European countries should make it their goal to protect the native crayfish population. However, as case C-131/93 illustrates, import restrictions between members of the European Union is contrary to the EC treaty. Therefore, are no easy answers as to what to do about the crayfish problem within the European Union.

[Dakhar]

Well I have to admitt, I did skip chapter 4, and skimmed over chapter 6, and kinda gleemed over chapter 8, of the above post.

But I never saw anything about Thailand.

Secondly, one does need to import them from America... China, like I said has them, Austraila has their own highly desired breed called "Red Claw." Which is looks like it could eat small children! No really, it looks like a viable animal for here.

rampumps.com/products/crayfish/crayfish_farming.htm

I think it would be fun to do.

But if there was a risk of killing off indenginous fish... well I would not want to do that.

[Farma]

My main worry would be losing them all in the wet season from the flooding. They also go walkabout in rain.

It's a good idea though, I wouldn't mind stocking a dam up with them too.

Brings back plenty of childhood memories sitting on the edge of a dam with a lump of meat on a string and a scoop made from chicken wire.

Later in life i would throw a dredge type wire scoop into the middle of the dam and drag it back with a rope. Always guaranteed 10 each throw and plenty of fishing bait.

We would store them in an old concrete wash basin with long grass and a wet hessian bag as a cover. They will stay alive for a week if needed.

[Maizefarmer]

Flooding - that was my concern as well, because "walk about" would not onl;y be a case of stock loss, but also a matter that would "upset" the authorities....... read on.

- if imported from Australia (which as I said earlier - I know a guy in SaraBuri who has them) the cocern form the authorities would be if they got into local streams and rivers - what would the ecological consequenses be?

He didn't get permission - he smuggled them in in his luggage - wrapped up in a wet dishcloth, and has since been distributing very discreetly to just a few ex-pats and Thai's. As well, he cannot breed them on the scale he wants to -and is restricted to keeping them in a few concreate tanks in the back yard.

Now - would that be the case regards the variety from China - perhaps not.

Tim

[Dakhar]

Yes the tank approach would be about the only way to keep these little fellows contained. It would be like trying to farm raise mosquitos in Thailand....

China I doubt uses tanks. Again they are the largest exporter to America, and in America they use rice fields. We do have some independent trapers the catch them and sell them on their own. But not many.

Any how, I think it is a shame we don't have them here. They are a good source of protien, a great alternative to shrimp, it would allow the rice farmers another source of income, and probably create new jobs.

This fellow that smuggled them in, would he be interested in selling some brooding stock for tank purposes? I am not interested in having authorities come down on me. We have some tanks that were used for crocadiles.... I figure they would suit crawdads just fine.

[Maizefarmer]

I will give him a ring sometime over the weekend and find out.

Tim

[Bizz]

Well I have to admitt, I did skip chapter 4, and skimmed over chapter 6, and kinda gleemed over chapter 8, of the above post.

But I never saw anything about Thailand.

Secondly, one does need to import them from America... China, like I said has them, Austraila has their own highly desired breed called "Red Claw." Which is looks like it could eat small children! No really, it looks like a viable animal for here.

rampumps.com/products/crayfish/crayfish_farming.htm

I think it would be fun to do.

But if there was a risk of killing off indenginous fish... well I would not want to do that.

I Can understanding you skipping chapter’s t’was a mouthful for me also.

Having seen what imported crawfish have done to British rivers.

Her is another mouthful.

In many cases, the establishment of

introduced crayfishes is enhanced by

other, ongoing global changes that

create environments less favorable for

native species and more favorable for

introduced species, e.g., organic pol-

lution, increased rice cultivation,

higher salinity from water withdraw-

al for irrigation

http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:SnsSZk...lient=firefox-a

Those who live and work in Thailand are very much aware of the dangers of environmental mismanagement. Especially those who run farms. Easy money is clearly not always the end to a means.

Farangs can play a large part in retaining there environmental awareness they have learned in farangland and teaching Thaïs in better eco management.

Clearly, species with small

ranges, like many of the North Ameri-

can crayfishes, are extremely vulnera-

ble to extinction because even a small

area invaded by a nonindigenous spe-

cies may affect a large proportion of

the individuals in a native species

Clearly we should love this country that has given us so much beauty. :AND PLAY OUR PART:

[Bizz]

Links to articles.

link on last did not come out correct.

http://crayfish.byu.edu/DOCS/Lodge_et_al_2000a.pdf

http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:SnsSZk...lient=firefox-a

[Crushdepth]

First thing, please do not import any kind of crawfish or crayfish from another country as there is a disease (crayfish plague mentioned above) that has been absolutely devastating to wild crayfish populations in other parts of the world, moving live crayfish around could easily move the disease around as well.

I think Doug Harrison, the proprietor of Bourbon Street Restaurant, has his own local source of live crawfish. I think he may also be involved in the farming operation to some extent, but am not sure.

I've only eaten there once, and it was quite a while ago, but at the time this restaurant was actually serving Australian redclaw crayfish Cherax quadricarinatus, not crawfish. You can buy large live redclaw from the Jatujak market in the aquarium section, so no need to import.

However, why not farm the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii, which is native to Thailand? It is a very tough animal, hatchery-produced juveniles are readily available, it grows quickly and tastes great. Accepted by the market already (unlike crawfish). Available from most large seafood restaurants and supermarkets.

I have a couple of photos available of a farm I visited a while back, and a comprehensive culture manual is available for free download.

Edited October 10, 2006 by Crushdepth

[Farma]

The Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific website has an article referring to a symposium scheduled for August 2006 by The International Association of Astacology (IAA).

The article mentioned “It is particularly hoped that the growing interest in farming native Australian freshwater crayfish, especially the redclaw Cherax quadricarinatus, throughout the Asia-Pacific will result in a strong attendance from the region”

The (IAA) website has a freshwater crayfish discussion forum for those interested in freshwater crayfishes.

The forum can be found at http://147.72.68.29/crayfish/phpbb2/index.php

I haven’t had time to read through the forum and it may provide some valuable information on Thai freshwater crayfish or farms already in operation.

[Maizefarmer]

CRUSHDEPTH - that is an excellent intro and referance publication to the Giant Freshwater prawn - thanks for the link

DOES ANYONE know anything about the economics of this creature i.e. what do they sell for per kg versus what they cost to raise.

Are the margins and profits good in Thailand (i.e. is it a subsitance "crop" or can you make a decent living from them?

A theoretical example: I stock off with Baht100 000 in stock - everything is setup and ready to roll.

How long will it take for that 100K stock to grow to market size, what will I land up spending to grow that stock to market size and what will it sell for?

Trying to get an understanding of what my Baht100K will turn into - and over what period of time (ignore hardware and setup costs).

Anyone have some ideas about that.

Tim

[Dakhar]

Looks like I got some minds spinning.

"Crawfish are freshwater crustaceans. Louisiana has more than 30 different species of crawfish, but only two species are commercially important to the industry; the red swamp crawfish (Procambatus clarkii) and the white river crawfish (Procambatus zonangulus)."

w.crawfish.org/history.htm

If I remeber correctly the Red swamp crawfish was not indeginous to my area, but the white crawfish was. The Red swamp had to be repeatedly introduced into the area because the white crawfish was more hardy.

I have eaten a Burbon Street too, and the crawfish I ate, I did not think they were Red Claw. If they were, then they harvest them at a pretty young age because really Red Claw crawfish are huge, and often times mistaken for young lobsters when brought to the table.

100,000 baht.... I don't think you need that much at all. About the only costs would be the traps. Back home, sometimes they would feed them Hay. I kid you not, you can throw Hay out into the pond and they will eat that too. To catch them sometimes folks would use cans of cat food. They would punch a whole into the can, and put the can in the trap and set out the traps. Some folks were using a SOY mix to save money...

But in my opinion, the secret is not in the farming of Crawfish, it is in the cooking them. A crawfish cooked improperly tastes nasty.

[Maizefarmer]

Yes - well your cooking advice tells me f'all about their commercial viability - but noted, it was a tongue in cheek reply.

Can get as big as a lobster - hel_l, it would wreck havoc on the Thai ecology if it got into the stream/river system - it would have hardly any predators.

How long to grow from juvanile to maturity?

.........but back to the original question - lets say I wanted to earn Baht 200K per month - the question is what sort of quantity would I have to turn over - in terms of volume/weight and gross value in money - and again, ignore setup costs (ie tanks or dams), assume the business is up and running.

I have no doubt these things would sell well at local markets.

Can someone put some figures to this (in a Thai context)?

Tim

[Dakhar]

If you are looking for a feed costs to viable food product (feed to meat ratio) I do not know. Never worried about that. I have never even farmed them... just caught them out in the bayous and ditches, and sometimes in the yard. Oh yes, and I would purchase them sometimes live, and cook them up. Kind of like a BBQ idea, without educated red-necks, we just had hicks attending only.

Seriously, if I remember correctly they sold for 3-4 dollars a pound.... But honestly, the memory is vague on this, because when it came to eating craw fish, price was not an issue.

Secondly, I can not answer your question because "Demand" drives prices. No demand, no desire for product, no purchase. Slight demand, low price, high demand higher price etc etc. Then you have "need" for the product. There is a difference between need and demand. There is no need for crawfish. So now the price is even less....

So a margin can not be determined unless a price can be determined, and no one knows what the public is willing to pay for a mud bug, because the public does not even know what a mud bug is! Kind of an enigma of sorts.

But I figure with the amount of vegetation growing freely around here, feed should be easily obtained. Theoritically you could feed them manure, and they would not care.

If it were I, I would not advise someone to jump into this as a potential business, I would sugget it to be just a hobby. If the hobby bloomed into a financial giant....

Edited October 10, 2006 by Dakhar

[chownah]

What about environmental problems if they escape and go wild?

Chownah

[Issangeorge]

"Red Claw crawfish are huge, and often times mistaken for young lobsters when brought to the table." Dakhar, I use to eat at a restaurant in Florida and always ordered what they called rock lobster, never knew what the really were, could they have been the crawfish you are talking about? Issangeorge

[chownah]

What about environmental problems if they escape and go wild?

Chownah

[Dakhar]

As it has been posted before, crawfish are here already. You just need to know where to find them.

We know that they are presently farmed here. So the introduction has already been made, and guess what.... Snake Head fish still thrive, and they probably will beyond WWW V.

Who is to say crawfish were not indeginous to this area to begin with and some imported Snake Head ate them all up? Maybe the re-introduction of an indeginous crreature is our way of "giving back" to nature.

I am in no rush here. Take it as a hobby, that is all. Heck who is to say I will get along with a Ausie crawfish in the first place. All I can say is, if he bites me... in the pot he goes. (along with some corn and potatoes, and some shrimp boil)

[chownah]

As it has been posted before, crawfish are here already. You just need to know where to find them.

We know that they are presently farmed here. So the introduction has already been made, and guess what.... Snake Head fish still thrive, and they probably will beyond WWW V.

Who is to say crawfish were not indeginous to this area to begin with and some imported Snake Head ate them all up? Maybe the re-introduction of an indeginous crreature is our way of "giving back" to nature.

I am in no rush here. Take it as a hobby, that is all. Heck who is to say I will get along with a Ausie crawfish in the first place. All I can say is, if he bites me... in the pot he goes. (along with some corn and potatoes, and some shrimp boil)

Do you know how many varieties of crawfish there are in the world? Just because one variety MIGHT be indeginous doesn't mean you should think you have a carte blanche to import other varieties....maybe your imported variety will displace all the native ones and then go on to destroy some other sensitive habitat.

MAYBE they were indeginous? You think that MAYBE they were here so its ok to import some more?

They are here already? Ok, what variety?....who has them.....are they breaking the law in raising them?...maybe you should go ask them if they imported their stock legally....there is a rule on TV that we can not discuss doing anything which breaks Thai law....perhaps this entire discussion falls into that category.

If your intent is to do this legally then I suggest you go to the Thai authorities and get a work permit for raising them.

The entire crawfish raising thing here seems sort of closed mouthed and hush hush......makes me think it is illegal and that's why you don't see them for sale in the markets.

Chownah

[lannarebirth]

Yes - well your cooking advice tells me f'all about their commercial viability - but noted, it was a tongue in cheek reply.

Can get as big as a lobster - hel_l, it would wreck havoc on the Thai ecology if it got into the stream/river system - it would have hardly any predators.

How long to grow from juvanile to maturity?

.........but back to the original question - lets say I wanted to earn Baht 200K per month - the question is what sort of quantity would I have to turn over - in terms of volume/weight and gross value in money - and again, ignore setup costs (ie tanks or dams), assume the business is up and running.

I have no doubt these things would sell well at local markets.

Can someone put some figures to this (in a Thai context)?

Tim

Are we talking about ceayfish or prawns here? I posted this several days ago under another topic heading. It's not comprehensive, but it gives some references to check:

http://www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au/aquacultur...hwater_crayfish

[Dakhar]

Oh my, I think I am going to turn myself in to authorities. I have 2 Siamese fish.... and shamefully I feed them. I guess I am "farming" which I think is illegal in the first place.

So everyone on this "Farm" forum is breaking the law.

Gosh shucks... I havn't taken a bath or cleaned my posterior for about 5 weeks now since my maid has been out. Blah blah

Get off the cross somebody else needs the wood.

I am not going to go through the trouble of importing crawfish. If they are already here, well that is another story.

Welp, got to go feed the illegal dog out front.