In Netherlands, Schouten does not want to leave crayfish fishing to volunteers

According to the minister, there are strict conditions for catching and transporting lobsters to prevent the species from spreading faster and further. In addition, there are rules regarding the use of fishing gear to prevent poaching and ecological damage from bycatch of fish and amphibians. The MPs asked the questions in response to a control campaign by the municipality of Ede in June this year. Members of an angling club retrieved 11,000 crayfish from a pond in a month. The liberals also want to know whether the dyke subsidence in Utrecht's Reeuwijk at the end of July is due to the American crayfish. Farmers assume that the culprit is the native exotic. The Rijnland Water Board has started an investigation into the dike breach. 'It seems unlikely that the dyke subsidence is largely due to digging activities by crayfish, more definitive conclusions will have to be drawn from the research,' replies Schouten. The VVD members are curious about what actions water boards have taken ...