The hatchery

Following a successful trial period in early 2023 (funded by Devon Environment Foundation), Natural England funding is enabling Wildwood Trust in Devon to expand the crayfish hatchery facilities to accommodate native crayfish from across Devon and Somerset.

Guided by crayfish hatchery specialists from Bristol Zoological Society, the Wildwood Devon Team have converted redundant fish rearing tanks into a state-of-the-art crayfish hatchery.

The large tanks contain a gravel layer on the bottom, and pipes and engineered bricks mimic natural habitat for crayfish to hide in. Water temperature and chemistry is carefully controlled, and water quality is checked regularly to ensure the crayfish have the optimum conditions for breeding.

The hatchery is a crucial element of the measures being taken to save Devon crayfish from extinction. WCC are being gradually rescued from Devon rivers and moved to the hatchery where they will breed over the winter.

The team are also attempting to capture ‘berried’ female crayfish (carrying eggs) each spring, and the females will be cared for at the hatchery to ensure the eggs hatch.

The hatchery will eventually be able to accommodate up to 500 crayfish in 10 separate tanks. Once the crayfish are at least 18 months old, they can be moved to ‘ark sites’ to establish larger breeding populations.

Eventually these ark site crayfish will be used for future releases back into Devon rivers (at locations where they safe from the threat of invasive species and poor water quality).