The river crayfish and the lake crayfish are natural inhabitants of Bulgaria’s rivers, lakes and marshes. Once widespread, today they are increasingly rare – because of water pollution, habitat destruction and diseases brought in with foreign crayfish species. Where crayfish still live, the water is clean. Their presence is therefore one of the most reliable indicators of the condition of a water body.
In 2020 Ecopark Vaya began work to protect the river and lake crayfish in its ponds. Crayfish need clean, oxygen-rich water, shelter on the bottom and along the banks – roots, stones, undercuts – and peace. These are exactly the conditions the ecopark strives to maintain in its canals and ponds.
The work included keeping the water clean, preserving the natural banks with roots and vegetation in which the crayfish dig their burrows, and limiting interference in the areas where they occur.
Crayfish are irreplaceable in the ecosystem of a water body. They feed on dead plants and animals and so clean the bottom, and they themselves are food for the otter, the herons and many other inhabitants of the ecopark. Without crayfish the cycle of matter in the water is disrupted.
The activity was carried out with our own funds and labour, as part of Ecopark Vaya’s constant care for its aquatic inhabitants – including those that are rarely seen.
Every crayfish found in the canals of the ecopark is a small victory. It means that the water we have been caring for since 2015 is clean enough to support even its most sensitive inhabitants.
Project summary
Project: Protection of the river and lake crayfish
Year: 2020
Location: Ecopark Vaya
Activity: maintaining clean water and natural banks with shelter, limiting interference in the crayfish habitats
Funding: own funds and volunteer work
Status: completed, ongoing
Photo: Autumn Bradley / Unsplash