The use of invasive red swamp crayfish for animal feed is nutritionally sound but economically flawed

Biological invasions are a major global driver of biodiversity loss, prompting ongoing efforts to develop effective management strategies. As crayfish are edible, potential control of invasive populations has been promoted through intensive trapping by fishermen. While large individuals can be captured for human consumption, the smaller ones are not considered, even though effective management also require their control. Thus, their use as animal feed has been proposed as an alternative. The potential of the invasive red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii as an ingredient for production and companion animal feed was evaluated by analysing published nutritional data and estimating intervention prices, i.e. the price at which crayfish would become economically competitive with existing feed ingredients. Despite favourable nutritional profiles, calculated intervention prices ranged from €0.37 per kg for adult dog feed to €0.53 per kg for broiler and laying hen feed, indicating low economic feasibility. In practice, fishermen require substantially higher prices to make harvesting profitable. This discrepancy renders the use of invasive crayfish as animal feed economically unviable, making this supposed management option largely impractical and speculative.