A proliferation of American crayfish in France is worrying environmentalists who fear their impact on ecosystems — but delighting gastronomes who enjoy them with brandy, garlic and parsley, reports The Times.
The red swamp crayfish from Louisiana have been fanning out across western and southern France this summer, popping up in gardens, swimming pools and parks.
Motorists have reported driving on roads carpeted with the crustaceans, while cyclists have complained their paths are often covered in them too.
Nicknamed the “tiny lobsters of doom” in the US, they are aggressive and capable of inflicting a painful pinch on unsuspecting hands.
Locals have been advised to wear thick gloves when removing them from their lawns and pools.
Conservationists are concerned too, with experts saying the species affects biodiversity and spreads crayfish plague, which it mostly shrugs off but which is fatal for native French crayfish.
“It is invasive, imposes itself, feeds on aquatic plants until they disappear [and] eats dragonfly larvae until they also disappear,” said Jean-Marc Gillier, director of the National Natural Reserve at Grand-Lieu Lake near Nantes in western France.
The species is believed to have arrived in France in the 1970s when it was imported by a fish farm. Gillier said: “The farm soon went out of business and some specimens escaped and colonised in the area and then those further north.”