WI Investigation Into Invasive Crayfish Imports Leads To Convictions

WISCONSIN — Years after an investigation was launched into invasive red swamp crayfish in Wisconsin, a Louisana company that imported thousands of the live critters has pleaded guilty to criminal charges, officials announced Monday.

The Louisana Crawfish Company, based in Natchitoches, Louisana, pleaded guilty to 10 charges of transporting, possessing, transferring or introducing an invasive species, according to online court records. It's the first time that the state's invasive species law has reached criminal convictions, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The investigation was launched in 2020 after grocery stores in Dane County and Fredonia were found selling the crayfish live, according to DNR Lt. Warden Robert Stroess, an administrator for commercial fish and aquatic species in trade enforcement program.

Additionally, a person in Ozaukee County reported a crayfish that was acting aggressively. After the report, Lt. Warden Stroess managed to track the escaped crustacean to a home 340 feet away where a crayfish boil happened just weeks earlier, according to a news release from the DNR.

Additional investigation found illegal importation throughout the Great Lakes region, the news release said.

Red swamp crayfish are native to the coastal gulf plain region of North America. They can burrow into the ground and cross several miles of dry land. For the Wisconsin DNR, though, they are invasive. The DNR said they have been found to reduce amphibian populations in California and Spain.

“These crayfish are illegal in Wisconsin because they cause havoc in our waterways by out-competing other species, damaging shorelines, and burrowing deep into the ground to avoid winter freezing,” said Lt. Stroess in a news release. “They are prolific and resilient.”

According to the DNR, authorities sent the crayfish distributers letters that shipping them was illegal. One of the distributers was Louisana Crawfish Company, the news release said. Despite receiving the letter, authorities said the company continued to ship nearly 13,000 additional invasive crayfish into Wisconsin.

The company pleaded guilty in August, according to the DNR. Online records show the company was also ordered to pay nearly $35,000 in fines, fees and assessments.

“Our hope is the outcome of this case can serve as a deterrent to other wholesale distributors to keep invasive red swamp crayfish out of Wisconsin,” said Lt. Warden Stroess in the release.