Killer shrimp contained

 

Killer shrimp found in UK waters has been contained.

Grafham Water Sailing Club suffered some minor disruption to its sailing schedule last month due to a small but voracious shrimp found in the reservoir.

Dikerogammarus villosus, nicknamed the "killer shrimp" is a particularly aggressive predator. It preys on a range of invertebrates, particularly native shrimps and young fish, sometimes wiping out entire populations.

Previously unknown in the UK it was spotted by two keen eyed anglers fishing at Grafham Reservoir, early in September who caught some specimens and sent them off to the Environment Agency (EA) for identification.

Ban at Grafham Water now lifted

The club had to cancel a scheduled open event on September 19th – 20th, when a temporary ban on boat movements was imposed on the club whilst the EA investigated.

However the ban has now been lifted and the club has been permitted to operate a regime in which any boat leaving the club premises is first washed down with fresh water.

 For the full story see the RYA web site. www.rya.org.uk