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Written question asked by Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party) on Monday, 13 October 2014, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 15 October 2014. It was answered by George Eustice (Conservative) on Monday, 20 October 2014 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Crabs: Non-native Species

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents there have been of intrusion in UK waters of Chinese mitten crabs in the last ten years; and what steps she is taking to protect the UK against this species.

Answer

There have been at least 311 reported sightings of the Chinese Mitten Crab since 2004.

There are no control methods known to be effective in reducing Chinese mitten crab populations. Therefore, the Government’s focus is to minimise the risk of spread through good biosecurity. Defra is working with a broad range of organisations to promote the Check, Clean, Dry campaign to promote behaviours which reduce the risk of spread of aquatic invasive non-native species such as the Chinese mitten crab.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
210257
Session
2014-15
Subjects
Crabs Non-native species
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk