Even though crayfish damage the rice and cause the rice paddy to leak, they are often grown together as the extra value of the crayfish outweighs the losses. In 2016 crayfish sold for 60 yuan per kilogram, compared to the same weight of rice at 32 yuan. Despite the damage they are causing, farmers continue to stock ponds with crayfish because of their high market price. Rice terraces, used for 1300 years in southwest Yunnan Province, are now being damaged by the burrowing crayfish. They have been called an invasive ecosystem engineer because of the way that they can change the environment to improve their own performance. Crayfish have spread throughout China threatening local fish, crustaceans, and aquatic plants like rice and lotus. They have invaded the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir, which is already facing geological hazards from earthquakes and landslides, and are compounding the risk and severity of bank collapse. In a suitable habitat they quickly become the dominant species and put pressure on the native plants and animals.Ĭrayfish consume nearly all of the available food and burrow into and degrade riverbanks, levees, and dams. Native to the south-central United States, the red swamp crayfish were introduced into China in 1929. North American Crayfish Invade ChinaĬrayfish are one of the most famous invasive species in the world. Alien species can also bring in pathogens and transmit diseases and other uninvited “ hitch-hikers ” to wild populations. If they escape from aquacultural operations, they can become invasive in a new environment with no predators. An alien species is either accidentally or deliberately relocated into an area outside of its natural range. Nile tilapia, largemouth black bass, channel catfish, and red swamp crayfish are all alien species and their production through Chinese aquaculture exceeds even the growth of native species. Surprisingly, crayfish is not native to China but the Chinese began raising them when aquaculture began expanding in the 1980s. Between 20, crayfish production more than tripled to 850,000 tons. While it might just seem like a show for tourists, the Chinese are responsible for 90 percent of the world’s crayfish consumption and crayfish is on menus throughout the country. “Gui Jie” in Beijing, meaning Ghost Street, is dedicated to crayfish and is filled with towering bright red crayfish statues.
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