STATUS OF FRESHWATER CRAYFISH IN LATVIA

There are three crayfish species present in Latvia: the European noble crayfish (Astacus astacus), the narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus), and the North-American signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) species. Probably only noble crayfish are native and migrated into the country after the last glaciation. Narrow-clawed crayfish has also been present at least since the beginning of the 20th century. In total there are current information on crayfish from 258 localities in Latvia. Most of these localities are lakes (175), but many crayfish populations are also found in river and streams (66). A few populations are found in reservoirs, ponds and gravel-pits.