Specieswatch: after escaping a trap, killer shrimp is here to stay

Efforts to contain the non-native invader failed and it has spread all over England and Wales's waterwaysEleven years ago this column described the campaign by the Environment Agency to prevent the killer shrimp, Dikerogammarus villosus, from escaping from Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire. Extensive efforts were being made to get anglers and boat owners to sluice their kit before going to other rivers and lakes. Diddington Brook, the only outlet from the giant reservoir, was being filtered to prevent the shrimps getting to the River Ouse.Sadly the attempt failed and what the agency calls the worst non-native invader of England and Wales's waterways is now all over the country and impossible to control or eradicate. Continue reading...