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Marching Crayfish?

Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: General Forums
Forum Name: The Fish Tank
Forum Description: Discuss fish species here - ecology, ichthyology, biology, habitats etc
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3307
Printed Date: 10 Jun 2026 at 11:54am


Topic: Marching Crayfish?
Posted By: Peter da Squid
Subject: Marching Crayfish?
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 1:21am

After reading some of the posts in Lethals- Crays for Africa, got me thinking about what the hell are they really up to? Ive heard the usual tales that they all line up and walk this mighty journey around NZ and off to Oz, but why?

Have any of you got some hard evidence of what they are doing or some out there theories, or is it a case of you have to be a crayfish to know what the f**k's up with it all? One of Mother Natures great acts for sure!!



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Good for Nuthin



Replies:
Posted By: Barrie
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 6:46am
Mr Squid
I too have heard of people that have seen a march and just got down and had a collection but I have allways seen them when diveing my normal spots at all times of the year. Would love to see the video that Paul M talks of as it may answer what is almost impossible to belive


Posted By: Bushpig
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 7:33am

I was under the belief that its was the Packhorse crays that marched, not the reds.

Paul, what does the video say. Were they reds or packies ?



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I would rather laugh with the Sinners, than cry with the Saints


Posted By: Paul M
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 9:36am

Well,

When crays allround the country and in oz shake their tails and release their eggs, they basically mostly all end up off the Eastern coast of NZ a few hundred miles in a big eddy.

The reason for this is that the currents between Oz and around NZ all end up in this place.

The eggs turn into little swimmer things that don't look like crays at all, and they start swimming west ending up mostly around the gisborne-Wairarapa  area but actually all onlong the eastern coast of NZ.

They put these little test traps out and found the largest concentrations around Gisborne down to the wairarapa and through the cook straight.

After several years, and it doesn't happen every year, the crays, that actually remember where they were released from (Pretty amazing ) march going down NZ around stuart Island then up as far as Greymouth and some split off and go back to Aussie and the others continue up around the top of NZ .

From personal experience this explains why the cook staright is full of baby crays, literally nearly every crack in some places have hundreds of these. While up around Kapiti Ive only ever found larger crays, never a nest of babies.

Obviously there will be exceptions but for the main part this is what the crays do. Also not all of them march. Like a built in homing instinct in a percentage of the population to ensure a good gene pool mix. Thats why in general most crays are found in that Gizzy to Wairarapa area, and thats why we in Wellington can consistantly catch good crayfish 5 minutes from central wellington.

 



Posted By: Peter.Sea.
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 9:53am

Saw on TV a few years back that the theory behind them marching in a line was so they could cover a distance quicker in the currents like cyclists do in the wind.

P.C.



Posted By: Paul M
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 9:57am

In the good old days, there columns were up to 100 meters wide in places.

The spotter planes thought it was an oil slick when they saw them.



Posted By: Bender
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 10:08am
I saw that TV programme - the definitely migrated. They had pictures of them walking in file - down the south island somewhere I thought (could be wrong on that .. few brain cells killed off since then).

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Nobody has ever come up with a great idea after a second bottle of water.




Posted By: Barrie
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 4:49pm
mmm
looking forward to buying up the video then


Posted By: lalandi
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 5:12pm

Dont spose anyone was watching Prime at around 1930-2000hrs last night??? there was a prog on ocean killers and they had some cool footage of crayfish doing exactly that...

Apparently when  the water cools down to a certain level they start to think about the march and when the next full moon comes they start... They walk single file non stop untill they reach their destination. It was very cool footy and it showed trigger fish (leatherjackets) attacking the crayfish that had strayed from the pack. As you can imagine they are rather vulnerable on a sandy sea bottom.

also on this programme they had the most incredable footage of Striped Marlin herding fish into a meatball. This was all under water footage and was the best I have seen. According the the programme Striped Marlin use the stripes to communicate to each other, in particular whose turn it is to charge the meatball... (hmmm... I doubt that is the primary function of the stripes, but what would I know)

surly someone else watched this last night??? 



Posted By: KingfishSi
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 5:23pm
Didn't see that lastnight... bummer! But I have seen some footage of marlin herding fish into a meatball, circling and getting stuck in... oh what a sight that would be.

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Keep knockin', nobody's home.


Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2004 at 8:39pm

lalandi..... those were Painted crayfish which they have over seas they are vegetarians...... ours tend to march in a pointed arrow head fashion and even climb over each other because they are that dense in numbers......

Bushie..... both packies and spinies march here in NZ....... had a mate come across a Packhorse march and they filled the 10ft tinny up till they could not get in themselves none of these crays where under 12lb......



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Thanks for everything you did for us Eric. may you rest in peace, You were one of the real legends of NZ recreational fishing


Posted By: Barrie
Date Posted: 16 Jan 2004 at 6:07am
on meat balls
John Baker from Ma Cheree in Whakatane jumped overboard and took photos of a Yellow Fin school meatballing bait from underneath. The photos are on his boat. One gutsy guy


Posted By: Kerren
Date Posted: 16 Jan 2004 at 6:47am
Lala....

Was that Stripie footage from the Blue Planet Series?....Magdalena Bay?


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I am Kermit, Leader of Muppets Nov 05


Posted By: lalandi
Date Posted: 16 Jan 2004 at 8:25am
Dunno mate... it was a Granada production if that helps and it was definately of Blue Planet quality...


Posted By: Paul M
Date Posted: 16 Jan 2004 at 9:08am

I hired the blue plannet from the library, what an awsome set that is.

How about them Bluefin. Massive.




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