Distribution and industrial development of crayfish in the world

There are more than 540 species of crayfish in the world. Crayfish are widely natively distributed in the world except Africa and Antarctica. Some species of crayfish are well-exploited for years and have high economic value, including Procambarus clarkii, Cherax quadricarintus, Cherax tenuimanus, Cherax destructor, Astacus astacus and Astacus leptodactylus. The crayfish aquaculture mainly includes extensive, semi-intensive and intensive types of production. The demand of crayfish market is very large in China and several western countries. The profit of crayfish production is very high. Soft-shell crayfish is high valued and greatly demanded. There is considerable potential for the development of markets for soft-shell crayfish. The development of crayfish culture in China is analyzed and it has a bright prospect to develop the industry of crayfish culture especially soft-shell crayfish production in China.