Killer shrimp invade British rivers by CANOE #CarryGobySeanKellz #FutureGroupNG via @i_amreginaldjr

KILLER shrimp are spreading across Britain in canoes, wetsuits and waders of watersports enthusiasts threatening to wipe out native wildlife in our waterways, scientists have warned.

The killer shrimp is an unwanted invader from eastern Europe[Arco Images]

The invasion of the vicious biting critters from eastern Europe is being accelerated by outward-bounds enthusiasts and anglers.
Alien species are moving swiftly from river to river by hitching a ride on their boats and equipment. Killer shrimp can survive for more than a fortnight in the damp fold of a wetsuit.
And a survey of more than 1,500 watersports enthusiasts, published in online science journal PLoS ONE, found eight out of ten canoeists visit two or more different waterways every two weeks.
Half of them do so without ever cleaning or drying their gear, which could reduce the spread of the shrimp, whose latin name is dikerogammarus villosus.
The practice means that Britain’s 400,000 canoeists are unwittingly bringing deadly species across borders and spreading them around the country to set up rapidly growing colonies.

Killer shrimp are hitching rides with canoeists who fail to clean their gear [Alamy]

Biosecurity practices of these groups must improve

PLoS ONE report

Fast-growing killer shrimp are a major problem because they will kill other animals with their powerful, shredding jaws, often without eating them.
Its ability to prey on a wide range of species has led to many extinctions in other countries.
British riverbank favourites like the damselfly and small fish are particularly vulnerable to their attacks.
The report, by scientists from the University of Leeds, states: “To quantify this biosecurity risk, we conducted an online questionnaire with 960 anglers and 599 canoeists to investigate their locations of activity, equipment used, and how frequently equipment was cleaned and/or dried after use.
“Our results indicate that the biosecurity practices of these groups must improve to reduce the likelihood of inadvertently spreading invasive non-native species and pathogens through these activities.”
The scientists said that Britain’s canoeists and 4million anglers should be urged to follow government advice to “check, clean, dry” their gear every time it is used.