Nothing is more kiwi than catching a feed of Crays. I'd hazard a guess that they're one of the main reasons that people get into diving in the first place. The exorbitant prices that keep them off the menu for most New Zealanders make them the ultimate DIY delicacy. Like most divers my entry into the underwater world was driven by my hunter gatherer spirit, with catching my first crayfish at the top of my agenda.
After years of watching Dad and his mates take the plunge, in the summer of 2011/2012, after completing my PADI course , I knew my time to join Dad underwater had come . When I surfaced from my first dive with a solitary crayfish in my bag I knew I was hooked.
Crayfish Species
There are two main species of crayfish that are found in NZ waters, they are; the Spiny Red rock Lobster and the Packhorse crayfish. The spiny red rock lobster or 'reds' as they are more commonly known are found throughout New Zealand waters. Whereas Packhorse crayfish (packies) are more common the further north you travel.
Packies are easily distinguished from reds by their distinctive green colouring.
Unlike reds packhorse crayfish are measured by the length of the tail rather than the width, as is the case with reds.
Many inexperienced divers get into trouble because they assume that the packhorse crayfish is big enough even when it may be under the 216mm legal size.
Crayfish Lifecycle
After hatching crayfish larvae drift in open water for about a year as part of the plankton group. During this time they may fall prey to many different kinds of predators, because of this the number of eggs hatched plays a huge part in total stock numbers. After the larval stage they begin their lives as crayfish as we know them.
Like all crustaceans’ crayfish have a hard exo-skeleton shell that does not grow rather they make new ones and shed the outer shell as they get bigger. During the moult they discard their outgrown shell and have a brief 'soft' phase as the new shell swells and hardens.
THRILL OF THE
CHASE