Crayfish plague, Aphanomyces astaci, is as freshwater fungi infection that infects and kills the European Astacus crayfish. It is uncertain how the plague was introduced in Europe, but one speculation is that it arrived to Italy with ballast waters from a North American ship. Another speculation is that it arrived when the North American Signal crayfish was introduced as a cheaper food crayfish.
After its original introduction in Italy 1860, it spread quickly through Europe and was discovered in Sweden 1907, in Spain 1958, in Norway 1971, in United Kingdom 1981, in Turkey 1984 and in Ireland 1987.
It has wiped out large populations of Astacus and efforts to reintroduce this, the original European crayfish, has been quite unsuccessful because of large implantations of Signal crayfish, most of them done on private initiative. The Signal crayfish is, although resistant, a carrier of the plague.
In Norway, some recent implantation of Astacus has been promising though.
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