Crayfish May Crawl Out of the Sea to Feed
Wellington's south coast could witness the march of the crayfish, as they swell in numbers and crawl out of the sea to seek new food sources.
New research on Wellington's Taputeranga Marine Reserve has showed the depleted crayfish population will recover from the effects of overfishing, but it could take as long as 40 years.
As their population grew, crayfish off the south coast would need to look for different food sources, he said. Blue mussels did not grow in the area naturally, so food sources were limited.
In Wellington, it means we'll have a change in both diet and behaviour. It was likely that crayfish would begin to move into the intertidal zone, even crawling out of the ocean at night to feed on seaweed.
It's mindblowing to think crayfish commonly used to inhabit the intertidal zone. They would crawl into crevices and under rocks.