Two Minnesota Small Businesses Catching and Selling Invasive Crayfish

There's an invasive species called the rusty crayfish that has been causing problems in at least 300 lakes across Minnesota, many of which are in northern Minnesota.

They can be extremely detrimental to the ecosystem of a lake, but unfortunately, there's no known way to get rid of them... except for catching them and eating them.

That's what two small businesses are doing; selling the crayfish to individuals, and there's also at least one Minneapolis restaurant that has put them on their menu.

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How Did the Invasive Rusty Crayfish End Up in Minnesota?

The rusty crayfish is native to the Ohio River, according to MPR. So how in the world did these guys end up in Minnesota lakes? People brought them as bait for fishing. However, they also really like to mow down any vegetation they come across, including wild rice crops.

These crayfish reproduce rapidly and, like I said earlier, since there's no known way to get rid of them it makes it very difficult to get them under control.

That's where the small companies Crawdaddies and Northern Foragers come into play.

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Catching and Selling the Invasive Rusty Crayfish

Both companies catch these invasive rusty crayfish. People can purchase them for personal use, for their next crayfish boil (which are so delicious and fun if you've never been a part of one before), and Crawdaddies even sells to a very popular restaurant in Minneapolis.

The Minneapolis Restaurant with the Invasive Rusty Crayfish on Their Menu

You may have heard of the restaurant Bûcheron. They're a relatively new restaurant that recently won a James Beard Award for the best new restaurant in the country. And they use the invasive rusty crayfish in their menu!

At first the chef and co-owner, Adam Ritter, didn't know these crayfish were invasive. Once he learned that, he told MPR that he wants to use them even more on the menu now.

In 2025, MPR says Crawdaddies caught about 1,400 lbs. of rusty crayfish just from Caribou Lake.