Germany’s crayfish crisis: Berlin struggles to contain crayfish invasion

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Berlin has been struggling to contain a crayfish invasion, and Klaus Hidde is the man tasked with bringing it under control.

Someone released this alien invasive species into two Berlin lakes in the spring, so this 63-year-old former banker was called in to bring their numbers down. These tasty crustaceans pose a threat to local wildlife because they carry disease and eat other animals’ food.

Former banker Klaus Hidde now sells North American Crayfish to Berlin restaurants. /CGTN Photo

Hidde thought his mission would be completed in just a few weeks. Instead, this aggressive species just keeps on multiplying. Hidde now has 20 nets out and has established a new business to sell them on to restaurants.

“We’ve caught 10,000 in 6 weeks,” he said. And yet he doubts that has made a significant dent in the population.

The problem is localized at the moment. But if it spreads, it could have a significant environmental impact.

North American Crayfish have been let loose near Berlin. /CGTN Photo

On the up-side, Berlin’s restaurant scene is abuzz with a new flavor. Some of the city’s top restaurants are buying them up and adding them to their menus.

Strangely, this is Germany’s second crayfish crisis of 2018. Earlier this year, environmentalists as far away as Madagascar reported that an all-female species of Marbled Crayfish that had originally escaped from a German aquarium in the 1990s, had since spread across the world, and was now out-surviving other two-sex species crayfish.