It is feminine, it is young and tells about the protection of the environment the project aimed at protecting the precious and at risk of disappearance of the crayfish, thanks to the Life Claw project underway in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines National Park, which will soon also involve the new center of the “Frignoli”.

“For the first time the small Italian crayfish, born in July, were introduced by the researchers of the Life Claw project suitable results of the Municipality of Ventasso and the upper Parma area, after carrying out health surveys to verify their state of health” explains the project manager, Francesca Moretti, 46, a degree in animal production sciences. “This phase of the project follows the successful reproduction at the centers in Emilia, in the municipalities of Monchio delle Corti and Corniglio, province of Parma, and in Liguria, in the municipality of Fontanigorda. A total of 1,538 young specimens have been collected and released: 100 in the Fontanigorda farm; 148 in that of Monchio delle Corti and 1,290 in that of Corniglio”. Unlike crustaceans, and their sea “cousins”, freshwater crayfish do not have a larval stage, but when hatched the young already appear with the same appearance as adults. “Crayfish – explain Arianna Garofolin, 29, and Maria Chiara Contini, 27, graduated with honors in Ecology and nature conservation – have a fundamental role within the aquatic ecosystems in which they live, because they are able to regulate many species in terms of abundance, being omnivorous, and is in turn a source of food for fish and birds”.

Now, with the current release operations completed, the Life Claw researchers will restart the breeding activity. The breeding prawns (males and females) will be recovered to be introduced into the tanks of the Emilian and Ligurian centers. Mating should take place in late October, and after that the females will emit eggs. To the centers of Fontanigorda, Monchio and Corniglio, will soon be added the new center of the “Frignoli”, built by the Union of Municipalities of Lunigiana, which will be managed by the project staff of the National Park of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines.