=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper95
|storemode=property
|title=Crayfish Cultivation in Turkey: Past, Present and Future
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper95.pdf
|volume=Vol-1498
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/haicta/TurelKB15
}}
==Crayfish Cultivation in Turkey: Past, Present and Future==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper95.pdf
Crayfish Cultivation in Turkey: Past, Present and
Future
Selçuk Türel1, Semih Kale2, Selçuk Berber3
1
Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Marine Sciences and Technology, University of
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart, Çanakkale, Turkey, e-mail: selcukturel@comu.edu.tr
2
Department of Fishing and Fish Processing Technology, Faculty of Marine Sciences and
Technology, University of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart, Çanakkale, Turkey,
e-mail: semihkale@comu.edu.tr
3
Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Marine Sciences and Technology, University of
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart, Çanakkale, Turkey, e-mail: selcukberber@comu.edu.tr
Abstract. As one of the members of the economic crustaceans; the freshwater
lobsters or as they are commonly known as crayfish in Turkey, belong to the
Decapoda order of Crustacea class from the phylum of Arthropoda. The
freshwater lobsters, which have over 640 species in the world, are generally
distributed to the continents of America and Australia. Although the freshwater
lobsters have an abundant number of species, the economic importance lies
with 3 family (Astacidae, Cambaridae, Parastacidae) and around 10 species
from those indicated families. The freshwater lobsters in Turkey are
represented by two species. Astacus leptodactylus, one of the species is a local
one that is abundant around inland water localities while the other species is
Austropotamobius torrentium whose existence was determined especially in
Thrace area within Marmara Region. However, the production of crayfish in
our country is practiced only by the means of fishing and the hunted crayfish
are imported to various European countries. However, the crayfish cultivation
has a great potential in Turkey due to the facts that Turkey is rich in terms of
inland waters and the crayfish may be found in various localities.
Keywords: Astacus leptodactylus, Crayfish, Turkey.
1 Introduction
The production of freshwater crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus Eschscholtz, 1823) (Fig
1) began from the mid 1960’s around the lakes of Manyas and Uluabat in Turkey
(Erençin and Köksal, 1977). The gradually increased production reached to 8000 tons
in 1984. Although the production totals showed an increase in later periods, such
figures never reached to the levels between 1978 and 1985. Between those years,
Turkey became the dominant figure over %70 of the world crayfish market.
However, after those years, due to the crayfish plague (fungal disease) and the
excessive fishing lead to a serious decline in the production of crayfish (Fürst and
Söderhaäll, 1987; Timur and Timur, 1988; Baran and Soylu, 1989). This disease first
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appeared in Turkey within the crayfish stocks in Lake Çivril around the end of 1984
and over time, spread to the lakes of Eğirdir, Beyşehir, Akşehir, Marmara, Apolyont,
Manyas, İznik and Sapanca (Timur and Timur, 1988; Baran et al., 1989; Baran and
Soylu, 1989). It is thought that the transportation of fishing materials between lakes,
transportation of live fish and the migratory birds played an important role regarding
the fact that the disease spread to high numbers of water sources in a short period of
time (Müller, 1973; Brinck, 1988). In the subsequent years, serious problems were
experienced in crayfish stocks and in some localities, the crayfish stocks went to the
brink of depletion.
Fig 1. Adult individuals of crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus) (Individual on the left is male and
on the right is female with eggs).
The crayfish is able live in many water sources, lakes and rivers being first. They
are especially found in shallow waters and areas with rocky floor that contains an
abundant amount of plantation (Alpbaz, 2005). The crayfish, which use such
environments as shelters, became protected from the adverse environmental
conditions and especially from the predation and cannibalism. The crayfish are
classified as herbivores, detrivores, omnivores and sometimes as a necessity,
carnivores (Momot, 1995). The crayfish carry out their life by consuming live or
decomposed plants, grains, algae and consuming the remains of thousands of animals
ranging from smaller invertebrates to some vertebrate species such as small fish
(James and Huner, 1985). In addition, the animal based zooplankton, worms, insects
and mollusks may also be the prey of the crayfish.
The production of crayfish in Turkey is only achieved through fishing. In the
inland waters of Turkey, the existence of the freshwater lobster has confirmed in 112
localities. Unfortunately, the consumption of crayfish as a food is quite low in
Turkey although it is in demand in touristic regions. The crayfish that is produced in
Turkey is exported to various European nations such as France and Sweden (TÜİK,
2013) (Table 1Table 1. The total exported amounts of the freshwater crayfish
(Astacus leptodactylus) from Turkey to Europe.).
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Table 1. The total exported amounts of the freshwater crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus) from
Turkey to Europe.
Year Amount (tons) Year Amount (tons)
2001 1634 2008 783
2002 1984 2009 734
2003 2183 2010 1030
2004 2317 2011 610
2005 809 2012 492
2006 797 2013 532.1
2007 816
Nowadays, the crayfish cultivation in Turkey is mainly limited with the cultivation
trials, conducted at universities. In many countries in the word, especially in northern
America, China and Australia, the cultivation of crayfish is undertaken. Even by
setting up crayfish - rice alternating systems high profits are obtained after receiving
the yield of two different products.
Due to the facts that Turkey is rich of inland waters and the crayfish can be found
in most of the inland waters, its cultivation can be undertaken with less of a cost
compared to the other sea and inland species that are being cultivated. Especially for
the crayfish - rice alternating cultivation system, the inland water areas and the paddy
fields are highly convenient. Berber et al. (2014) conducted a study in Mahmudiye
area (Çanakkale, Turkey) and tracked the rate of survival and growth of the crayfish
larvae (initial size: 11.08 mm and initial weight: 0.04±0.01 gr) that they placed to a
paddy field for 90 days without any external feeding. As the result, after 90 days, the
length of the individuals reached to 37.46 mm and the weight of the individuals
reached to 1.46±0.863 gr. The results of the study indicate that the crayfish - rice
alternating cultivation method, which is currently employed by many countries, can
also be employed in Turkey with ease as well.
2 Results
As the result of the ever increasing world population, the need for nutrient
elements, the animal proteins being first, also increase day by day. Crayfish stands as
an alternative species compared to many species due to the fats that it is found in
many inland waters in Turkey and its nutrient content. In addition to all else, the
crayfish cultivation can also be achieved with less costs compared to other cultivated
species. There is no need for high cost bearing expenses such as forage. Therefore, its
cultivation does not require a serious cost. The rich inland waters of our country have
a high potential for employing crayfish cultivation.
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