CHILDREN and adults alike carried 100 crayfish from their storage containers to Swan Hill’s river-edge on Friday, excited for the crustaceans to be heading home after a two-year rescue effort.
The community and OzFish collaborated on the rescue operation from the moment crayfish started crawling out of the flood-induced hypoxic blackwater, until the second those same crays flapped backwards into the river.
OzFish senior program manager Braeden Lampard helped to rescue them in 2022-23 and was clipping the rubber safety ties from around their claws before handing them to children to take them to the water on Friday.
“We had people tell us they were emotional having the crays come home, and I’m emotional as well even though I’m not from here,” Mr Lampard said.
“It’s been a very long story in the making, and everyone who’s involved is super proud of being able to release these crayfish back to where they were originally captured from.”
While the community was undeniably excited, some were held back by their fear of getting spiked by the crays’ tail spikes or, worse, nipped by claws reaching around to their hands.
“The community feedback was amazing,” Mr Lampard said.
“A lot of people enjoyed it.
“We had kids releasing crayfish who had never seen one before.
“Some people got spiked – there were mixed emotions about that.
“Some kids didn’t like it, didn’t want to touch it, which is fine.”
Many children did release multiple crayfish, though, clambering back up the riverbank for more after watching their last crayfish propel backwards through the water.
Multi-generational families gathered on the riverside to watch the crayfish swim backward into their home waters, including a grandfather, father and son.
“If it wasn’t for the fisheries guys, the crays would all be dead” the grandfather, Ed, said.
“It’s great for the river systems that they’re back.”
“It’s awesome, and it’s good to teach the kids what’s in there and how to look after them,” the father, Matt, said.
The youngest of the generations, however, was unimpressed with the ancient creatures’ mobility.
“I don’t like how they walk into the water,” he said.
“They walk slow like turtles.”
Crayfish numbers have been at a critical level, and the return of five- to 30-year-old crayfish will benefit the river health and the crayfish population.
“One hundred crays back into the system here means they will repopulate, especially because some of the ones that had eggs were quite big so they were breeders,” Mr Lampard said.
“Obviously, people aren’t allowed to catch crayfish here.
“As far as I am aware they are slow growing so it will take time.
“It’s not like a next year you’ll see lots of crays – it might be five to seven years.
“But every little bit counts.”
In all, 269 were captured from Tocumwal, where the original rescued crayfish were released to, and were split among Barham, Wakool, Moulamein and Swan Hill.
Another release is scheduled in a month to return crayfish to Tooleybuc and Nyah.
