Hungarian park staff rescue river crayfish from drying streams
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Bükki National Park Directorate staff in Hungary are intervening to save river crayfish populations as streams in the Cserhát region dry up due to drought.
Several years ago, the crayfish lived in numerous streams, but they were recently found in only four. This year’s drought threatened to further reduce their numbers as many streams disappeared.
Park staff manually deepened the beds of the Garábi and Mérges streams to create pools where they relocated crayfish trapped in shrinking puddles, some no larger than a handkerchief. Working in Kozárd, a settlement along the Mérges stream, presented a challenge because staff had to create refuge in unpaved sections of the largely covered stream bed.
The national park emphasized that while these quick interventions are necessary, they cannot replace broader measures to improve water retention and restore streams to a more natural state. Effective water management in the surrounding areas can lead to more stable water levels and delay drying, while natural stream beds and shading trees provide shelter for aquatic life even during the driest months.
The recently adopted Sustainable Water Management Action Plan, now overseen by Minister of Environment László Gajdos, may also help improve the situation.
