As the UK's only native freshwater crayfish, the white-clawed crayfish is in decline due to the introduction of the non-native and highly aggressive North American signal crayfish. This invasive species has brought disease to which our indigenous crayfish has no natural resistance.

An omnivorous crustacean, the white-clawed crayfish eats invertebrates, water plants and dead organic matter. It inhabits small freshwater streams of a depth less than 1 metre (although they're often found deeper at Vobster Quay), hiding underneath stones and rocks and in small crevices where they forage for food. They can grow upto 15cm in length.

Visitors to Vobster Quay are encouraged to ensure that their equipment and exposure suits do not transfer invasive non-native species to the waters here at Vobster Quay. You can do that very simply by following the advice outlined within the box opposite.

We are working along side Bristol Zoological Society to raise awareness and monitor INNS in our area. The South West Crayfish Project is working hard to prevent the extinction of white-clawed crayfish. One method is to move wild populations that are under threat to new, safe 'ark' sites. Vobster Quay has become one of these valuable ark sites.

Because Vobster Quay is a white-clawed crayfish ark site, it is susceptible to crayfish plague carried by the invasive American signal crayfish. The disease can stay viable on damp gear for up to 2-weeks. If you have been to other freshwater sites before coming to Vobster and have not rinsed and dried your kit, you could inadvertently be carrying crayfish plague (or even invasive tiny crayfish juveniles) into Vobster. If the Vobster crayfish get infected, the entire population is likely to die out within weeks!

We want you to enjoy and appreciate the white-clawed crayfish that we have at Vobster Quay but please afford them the same respect we hope you'd show any wildlife. Do not touch them or interfere with their movements in any way - just enjoy watching them going about their business. If you're lucky enough to see one, tell us about it - see the box opposite on how you can provide valuable data to us.

In most cases, only the bigger crayfish are caught and removed. These larger animals hold territories and prevent small animals from breeding. Take them out of a population and the little ones seize the opportunity and start to breed and you get a population explosion, which can lead to a biological desert where the crayfish destroy the entire ecosystem.