Red Claw

Red claw or cherax quadricarinatus is a freshwater crayfish, native to Queensland. Now being commercially farmed, this crustacean is becoming increasingly popular. Freshwater crayfish is traditional in many European cuisines and is becoming more popular in Australia too. In southern states, the closely related yabbies and marron are also farmed, and appear on menus throughout the country.

Sweden alone imports 2000 tonnes of freshwater crayfish annually from the United States. Asia is now becoming a market for crays, and this is of great interest to growers because of the proximity of Queensland to South-East Asia, and the high prices they can command there.

Compared to other shellfish, red claw is relatively easy to farm. Almost any land can be used, and the climate is not a major factor, allowing them to be farmed even in tropical and subtropical regions. Like others of its species, red claw is quite amenable to crowding, reproduces easily and grows rapidly. It is easy to harvest, tolerates broad temperature ranges, and even a range of salinity, and is free of disease.

Farming of red claws began in the 1980s and since then the industry has grown quickly, becoming successful here and overseas. There are over eighty licensed farms in Queensland and the annual production exceeds fifty tonnes.

The slogan of the industry is 'You can't ignore red claw' and at the rate the industry is growing, it will be impossible to ignore.