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Marron

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Marron

Abalone
Australian herring
Baldchin groper
Barramundi
Black bream
Blue sw immer crabs
Marron
Marron are the largest freshw ater crayfish in W estern Australia and the third largest in the w orld.
Marron management

They are endemic to south-w est W A and fishing for them has long been a W A tradition.

Marron recreational
fishing

A marron has a head and thorax protected by a hard shell called a carapace, and a muscular abdomen and
tail.

Marron commercial fishing

Mud crabs

Marron belong to the genus Cherax w ithin the Parastacidae family. They are decapod crustaceans, w hich means
they have 10 legs. These include large claw s for grasping food, fighting and moving. The next pair of legs
consists of tw o small pincers for picking up food particles and stuffing them in their mouths.

Pearl oyster

Marron have tw o eyes on the end of eyestalks but also rely heavily on touch and taste, using one pair of large
antennae and smaller antennules. They are most active just after sunset.

Pests

Marron can grow to more than 380 mm in total length. They range in colour from jet-black to brow n or even
striped, red and cobalt-blue, a rare natural version now farmed for aquariums.

Pink snapper
Praw n
Protected species
Rainbow trout

Distribution and habitat

Marron are endemic betw een Harvey and Albany. Over the past century, marron w ere stocked into farm dams
and w aterw ays from Hutt River north of Geraldton inland to the W A Goldfields and east to Esperance on the
south coast. They have also been stocked into commercial aquaculture farms in South Australia.
Marron dont thrive in w ater w ith high salinity, low oxygen or high temperatures. They prefer to live in parts of
rivers and dams w here there is permanent w ater and plenty of suitable habitat and food, such as rivers and
dams containing fallen trees and submerged leaves.

Rock lobster

Destruction of riverbank vegetation, increasing salinity, climate change and reduced river flow are affecting all
of south-w est W As freshw ater systems.

Scallop

In response to these environmental pressures, marron have reduced their range w ithin rivers. The healthiest
populations are generally found in rivers that are still largely in their natural state, w ith w ell-forested
catchments and plenty of vegetation on the banks.

Sharks
Spangled emperor

Types of marron

Spanish mackerel

Tw o types are found in W A: hairy marron (Cherax tenuimanus*) and smooth marron (Cherax cainii*). *The
scientific names are under review .

Tailor

Smooth marron are found in most south-w est rivers and dams. They are w hat most marroners have seen and
captured, and are the farmed aquaculture species.

W A dhufish

Hairy marron are listed as critically endangered and only found in the upper reaches of Margaret River. (The
head and sometimes tail (of larger marron) are covered in short hairs.)

Related information
Fisheries fact sheet - marron
Recreational fishing guide
marron

Lifecycle
Juvenile marron are rarely seen. They hide under rocks and in forest litter on the river or dam bed. The
speckled colouring that camouflages them changes as they grow older.
Marron grow mostly in summer, w hen w ater temperature is w armest. They grow by moulting (shedding their
shell, exposing a larger shell, w hich had been forming underneath). During the short time the new shell takes
to harden, marron are especially vulnerable to attack. In w inter, w ith cooler w ater temperatures, marron are
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less active and their grow th rate slow s.

They reach sexual maturity at tw o to three years of age. They spaw n in early spring w hen w ater
temperatures start to rise and in favourable seasons w ill produce more eggs (usually betw een 200 and 400,
but large females may produce up to 800). The eggs take nearly half a year to develop inside the females.
During mating, the males pass on a sperm packet that the females use to fertilise their eggs after laying.
Once the eggs are fertilised, the females carry them in a large mass under the tail until they hatch in late
spring. The hatched larvae then hang under the mothers tail, clinging to fine hairs. They stay there for many
w eeks, feeding on nutrients from the yolk sac and moulting several times.
By summer, these tiny juveniles are ready to actively feed. They drop aw ay from their mother and remain in
w aterw ays close to w here they w ere hatched.

Diet
Marron play a critical role as recyclers, breaking dow n animal and plant matter. Marron eat living, dead and
decaying plant and animal material found on the river or dam bed, including small invertebrates, fish eggs, fish
larvae and algae.

Predators
They are preyed upon by native w ater rats, tortoises, birds such as cormorants, fish such as freshw ater
cobbler and introduced species such as redfin perch and trout. Small juveniles are highly vulnerable to
predation from other fish and animals, and cannibalism by larger marron.
Illustration R. Swainston/www.anim a.net.au

Last modified: 24/04/2013 11:08 AM

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Marron
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Praw n
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Tailor
W A dhufish

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