As billions of invasive American crayfish continue damaging canals and other waterways around the country, the best of way of dealing with them may very well be to eat them, experts say.

No less than five species of invasive North American crayfish have made the Netherlands their home after they either escaped or were dumped into waterways here and elsewhere across the continent. Many also likely hitched a ride across the Atlantic on freighters.

They proved both indomitable and very fertile. A single female can carry around 200 eggs.

These hard-shelled invaders have since managed to eliminate their native counterparts here in the Netherlands while damaging canal walls, ditches, and other structures they use as their burrows. They have too few natural predators and have made mincemeat of various types of flora and fauna.

“The complete eradication of these species is no longer possible,” Sebastiaan Heuschen, a spokesperson for the agriculture minister, told Dutch News. “To date, there are no feasible and effective measures available to reduce them to a level where they no longer have any lasting negative impacts.”

A report in the NRC last February revealed the problem has become so bad in some places that cows have been pulled out of water after coming too close to areas damaged by crayfish.

So what is being done to tackle the menace?  The current population is difficult to estimate, but it’s thought to number into the billions. Both ecologists and water boards have sought expansive measures as various groups have devised potential ways to tackle the problem.

Polderkreeft is one company that specialises in crayfish bitterballen and kroketten. It was co-founded in early 2024 by Arjan van Dalen who decided it was time to do something about the problem after encountering dozens of them marching along a polder while he was walking his dog one morning.

He teamed up with Michael van ‘t Hoff, a colleague and chef. Together they used a deep fryer to develop crayfish recipes that might appeal to the masses. They now work with a group of professional fisherman and sell their fried treats to wholesalers around the country.

Van Dalen told Dutch News 100 kilos of crayfish typically yields about 13,000 bitterballen. And despite the efforts of him and his colleagues, there seems to be an unlimited supply of the primary ingredient.

“It’s truly a plague,” he said. “Crayfish reproduce very rapidly and are always hungry. The ditches are full, so you can keep fishing as long as you have bait in your traps.”

Wieger Kunst is the founder of Crawfish Farm Holland, another fishing company that has zeroed in on crayfish.

“While there is currently no large-scale national approach to combat the spread, there are increasing calls and initiatives from the government to do so,” Kunst said. “We’re not waiting for this to happen and have launched local projects to capture and manage the population.”

While many have criticised the government for doing too little, Heuschen said officials are currently helping to revise regulations to give water boards and commercial fisherman more power to catch crayfish and it supports further innovations in crayfish catching gear.

Crayfish are easy to catch and, while it becomes more difficult during the winter months, they can be collected year-round. Unfortunately, the market for locally-sourced ones remains stubbornly limited here in the Netherlands.

Van Dalen said financial support from the government could really help.

“As a company, we have to pay a considerable amount to buy crayfish from the fishermen, who need to earn enough to make a living,” he said. “If we or the fishermen can receive government compensation, we could significantly lower the prices of our products, allowing us to generate larger volumes and truly tackle this plague.”

Getting them onto supermarket shelves is another challenge. Regulations have blocked companies from selling locally-sourced crayfish to Albert Heijn, Jumbo, and other chains.

“What you find in the supermarket is often tail meat from China or Spain,” Kunst explained. “These are smaller, farmed crayfish with additives, among other things. They’re shelled in low-wage countries, which means the price is much lower than if we were to offer them.”

Clawing into the competition

Despite tough competition from overseas, Kunst remains optimistic.

Recently, the food safety board NVWA granted Crawfish Farm Holland formal  recognition. If all goes as planned, this means they should soon be able to sell them to supermarket chains, wholesalers, and markets both here and in other EU countries including Belgium and Germany.

He and his colleagues are already seeing their sales rise and they hope more Dutch consumers will develop a taste for crayfish in the years ahead, especially as the prices of other types of seafood continue to increase.

“What you also see is that shrimp is now becoming more expensive and mackerel is off the menu at many restaurants, so they’re looking for alternatives,” Kunst said. “Crayfish is a good substitute.”

And they’re not just getting converted into fried snacks or being used as a cheaper option for budget-conscious seafood fans. “Some Michelin-starred restaurants boast dishes with crayfish,” Van Dalen said.