Catching Crayfish
March 23, 2009 by Tonaldo the "Inn Man"
Filed under Latest News from Planet Inn
Tony and his crayfish!
Although I have been scuba diving for over three years now and have qualified to the level of PADI Recue Diver, I have only recently experienced the joy of diving for crayfish.
Some of my friends have been engaging in this ‘cat and mouse’ game for a while now, while I have always preferred to leave marine life undisturbed, and instead take copious amounts of photographs with which I can bore anyone willing to look at them for hours on end!
Recently though, I took the plunge (excuse the pun) at Rottnest Island and in the company of the infamous “Welshie” and my girlfriend Jo, we went hunting for our dinner.
The event was a Dive Club trip organized by Neil Clarke at Perth Dive Locker and he provided the loops. I provided the venue at Planet Inn and our versatile Chef, Mel was primed ready to cook up a feast.
I have to report that it is amazingly difficult! The little rock lobsters just don’t want to be caught and will not co-operate very much.
They hide under ledges and they always have an escape route planned. When you see their antennae poking out, you have to dive down close and poke your head under the ledge. Then you ever so carefully slide a long rod past the cray as he appears to be weighing you up. On the end of your rod is a spring loaded loop which you open up so that it’s larger than him.
If you are lucky, as you bring the loop forwards towards his tail, he will panic and walk backwards into your loop which you quickly close around him. It may sound easy enough but these things are lightning fast and very adept at sidestepping the loop.
Cray Diving at Rottnest
Out of about four that I tried to catch, I succeeded only once – on the first attempt, and what a thrilling moment that was.
Between us we caught five crays that day, though one was deemed to be undersize and was thrown back. By the way, you need a “Rock Lobster Licence” from the Fisheries Department and there are stringent rules so as to protect the species from over-fishing.
I can highly recommend them cooked with garlic and lemon! Ask Mel for the special recipe.
If you want to have a go at cray diving, just experience a trial dive or actually complete a “Learn to Dive” Course, please contact our staff at Planet Inn who will help you with all the necessary information and book it for you.
Tonaldo the “Inn Man”
23rd March, 2009
