3. Results
3.1. Crayfish cage trials
During the short-term cage trial, one crayfish with no apparent indications
of disease died. However, all surviving crayfish died subsequently
over a 2–6 month period after being transferred to
laboratory tanks. During the long-term cage trial, male mortality
until late March was 40% in Cage #1 and 80% in Cage #2 and female
crayfish mortality was 47% in both cages over the 8 month period.
When examined periodically, surviving crayfish generally appeared
healthy and virile, except for the discovery of melanised spots in the
tail membrane of two females.