England: Crayfish invade Hampstead Heath (boys, put your boardshorts back on)

[Danee]

Nip it in the bud... nude swimmers told to wear clothes as aggressive crayfish multiply in Hampstead Heath ponds
The greatest dangers for bathers using Hampstead Heath’s ponds used to be hypothermia or an encounter with a disgruntled duck.
 But authorities have been forced to issue a new warning following reports that an invasive breed of crayfish has swamped the open-air pools and begun nipping swimmers in intimate places.    It is a particularly sensitive problem in the Men’s Pond, where many bathers prefer to swim in the nude.    The culprits are Red Swamp Crayfish, a non-native species known for their aggressive behaviour and long claws. First spotted in the north London park around 20 years ago, they are now multiplying at such a rate that around 5,000 of them are said to be colonising the ponds.




 Doug Slade, chairman of the Hampstead Heath Anglers Association, said one of his members reported catching 180 of the crayfish in one hour.
 “They just breed and breed and breed - they eat all the fish in the ponds and there is nothing we can do to stop them.
 “We don’t want them here as they are destroying the wildlife,” Mr Slade said.
 For the bathers, the problem is more painful. Peter McCafferty, 43, a regular visitor to the ponds, said: “I have been seeing more and more crayfish being pulled out of the ponds and I am very wary of them.
 “I’ve had a couple of nips on my toes in the past few months, usually when I stop for a rest and tread water. But some people have been nipped in altogether more sensitive places, which doesn’t bear thinking about.”
 A fellow swimmer said he had been nipped on the bottom. “I suppose I was lucky really - if the crayfish had decided to attack from the other side I would have been in a lot more pain,” he said.
 “From now on I’m wearing my trunks.”

 A spokesman for the City of London Corporation, which runs the Heath, said: “We would prefer it if the crayfish had not been released in the first place, given that they are a non-native species. We don’t know how they got there, but a likely explanation is that they were dumped in the ponds.
 “Now that they are here, we would recommend that swimmers keep their distance to avoid getting a pinch.
 “We would also advise people to wear clothes.”
 Hampstead Heath has three bathing areas - the Men’s Pond, Ladies’ Pond and Mixed Pond - and has welcomed bathers in all seasons since the 19th century.
 Crayfish are not the only non-native species to invade the Heath, one of the capital’s loveliest open spaces.
 It is also home to a colony of parakeets, more commonly found in Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Nobody is quite sure how they arrived there but the most colourful theory had them escaping from the set of John Huston’s 1951 film The African Queen, which was filmed at Shepperton studios in Surrey.

[Nature Boy]

So cute but soo painfull 

[AElf]

But wait, here's a solution if you're a glass-half-full sort of person

Crawfish Pie
Ingredients
    1 (9 inch) prepared deep-dish pie crust
    1/4 cup butter
    1 cup chopped onion
    1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
    1/2 cup chopped celery
    1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
    1/8 teaspoon white pepper
    1 cup diced tomatoes
    12 ounces peeled crawfish tails
    2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    1 cup water

Directions
    Place the pie crust into a deep-dish pie plate.
    Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion, green pepper, celery, salt, cayenne pepper, and white pepper until the vegetables are tender and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and crawfish tails, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook for about 3 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally.
    Whisk flour and water together in a bowl until the mixture is smooth, and pour the flour mixture into the skillet. Bring the filling to a simmer, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand for 20 to 30 minutes to finish thickening.
    While filling is cooling, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust, and bake in the preheated oven until the crust is golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbling, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

(thanx to allrecipes.com)

[Mark]

But wait, here's a solution if you're a glass-half-full sort of person

Crawfish Pie

I was just going to say 'why not just fish them all out and eat them?'

[Gman707]

Sounds like an oppertunity for naked crayfish gumbo.

[benjames]

Ouch, sounds like it could be painful. Maybe I'm wrong, but don't they just move around on the sea floor? so maybe just swim shoes, and not shorts.

either way, if one pinches you, bite back!

[Advent]

A good, old-fashioned crawdad feed should take care of a few thousand at once. Catch, swim while cooking, eat!

[Brad]

But wait, here's a solution if you're a glass-half-full sort of person

Crawfish Pie

 
Good solution and I was not expecting that!