Marron is a name given to two closely related species of crayfishinWestern Australia. Formerly considered a single species, it is now recognised as comprising two species, the critically endangered Cherax tenuimanus, and the species that is outcompeting it, C. cainii.[1][2]
Marron are considered a luxury product and are the subject of a developing aquaculture industry in Western Australia and other Australian states. Total Australian production of farmed marron was 30 tons in 1996. In Western Australia, recreational fishing for marron is tightly controlled, with a limited season, permits are required, and minimum sizes are enforced.
Marron have been introduced to Kangaroo IslandinSouth Australia, where they have been commercially farmed, and have established feral populations in local waterways.
Despite the conservation and ecological importance of the freshwater crayfish species of Western Australia (aside from that on the larger, recreationally and commercially important marron C. cainii (formerly also known as C. tenuimanus), distribution, and occurrence in a wide range of habitats (where it is often locally abundant) have resulted in it being targeted by recreational fishers and forming an important component of the traditional diet of local Aboriginals.
The marron was split into two distinct species in 2002, when it was realised that some individuals were hairy (Cherax tenuimanus) and others were smooth (now known as the smooth marron, Cherax cainii). The hairy marron (Cherax tenuimanus) is endemic to the Margaret River in southwest Western Australia.
