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Crayfish washed up with stick raft With Ostrich foots, crab and mud snail inside, limpet? outside, paua, barnacle, pipi, oyster, verteba, mussel with red algae stalks, something, pie crust crab.
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I was standing on flat rock when I saw this guy nearly come right up out of the water (at mid to low tide) just before sunset.
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There were lots of little crayfish shells found washed up on the beach. They included lots of whole tails, so I don't think they were victims of poaching. Maybe the bad weather caused by Cyclone Pam had something to do with increased mortality rates of the little ones?
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Photo by Ian Nilsson
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Photo by Ian Nilsson
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A piece of crayfish, found washed up on the beach.
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With paua attached (after being in a catchbag together - paua is a separate observation).
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Shed skin of one of the koura living here.
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Shed skin of one of the koura living here.
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Shed skin of one of the koura living here.
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The last time I though I saw a koura I found out it was a packhorse and @clinton kindly explained the differences, so I think this is the koura although I could be wrong! *LOL* I think this may be the first time that @pjd1 has seen this in-situ. G2, shallow subtidal
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Lurking under a ledge Shallow sub tidal
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Crayfish
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Crayfish
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While staying in Deep Cove, our group spent a considerable amount of time on the docks fishing. Most of the marine species that we caught were bottom-feeders, with the occasional blue cod appearing at the end of a line. It was not until after we returned inside from the pouring rain that Billy, the hostel manger revealed his catch; three large, spiny creatures, which we would later eat for dinner. The crayfish, or rock lobster, as it has been branded in New Zealand swims at depths of 5 to 275 meters. The species that can be found on the South Island are the red crayfish (jasus edwarsii), and green packhorse crayfish (sagmariasus verreauxi). The fish we encountered was the red crayfish. We were able to tell because of the spines that grew on its shell and tail. This variety is also generally more common than its sister species. The red crayfish, also known as the spiny rock lobster, or spiny lobster for short, can grow to be 45-50 centimeters long and weigh as much as 3 kilograms. It has two long antennae, which it uses to map out its rocky, underwater environment and defend itself from would-be predators. This species hunts at night, which is why it was surprising that Billy caught one during the day, when the rock lobster is usually dormant in caves. This species can live up to 11 years and typically begins its mating cycle in Autumn. The most interesting thing that I have read about this species is the fact that it migrates extremely long distances walking on the sea floor. It is not uncommon for red crayfish originally tagged in Otago, for example, to turn up in the Fiordlands after they travel almost 850 kilometers! If you have the luck of catching a red crayfish, you are sure to enjoy a meal to remember.