The cottage has traps in the shed and it’s August, so why not? Because crayfish sit outside Sweden’s famous free fishing, and the rules that matter most are about disease, not catch size. Here’s how it works.
When you need this
You’ve rented a lakeside cottage in August and found crayfish traps (kräftburar) in the shed. Someone at dinner suggests putting a few out in the lake. Or you’re paddling from one lake to the next, pulled a crayfish up with your lure, or want to know when “crayfish season” starts. This page covers the permission question, the disease rules and the tradition.
Why crayfish aren’t part of free fishing
Sweden lets anyone fish free with a rod on the whole coast and in the five big lakes: Vänern, Vättern, Mälaren, Hjälmaren and Storsjön. (Our guide to free fishing on the coast and the five big lakes explains what that covers.) Crayfish are carved out by name. For all five lakes, the Fishing Act’s appendix lists the species covered as “all except crayfish”.
There’s a second reason. The free right covers hand tackle (handredskap): a rod, jig or similar with a line and at most ten hooks. A crayfish trap (bur) is a separate kind of gear in the same Act. Non-resident foreign citizens may fish with hand tackle; anything else needs the support of a private fishing right, which in practice means the owner’s permission. Permanent residents count as Swedish citizens.
The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (Havs- och vattenmyndigheten, HaV) puts it simply: the public may fish crayfish only in Vättern. In every other lake and stream you need permission from the fishing-rights holder (fiskerättsinnehavaren), who decides when crayfishing is open and how much you may take. Some owners sell crayfish permits to visitors. If your cottage host offers crayfishing, ask who holds the right and whether it’s included.
Getting this wrong is not a technicality. Fishing in someone else’s water without permission is unauthorised fishing. It can mean fines or up to a year in prison, and the catch and the traps can be forfeited.
Vättern’s public crayfish weekends
Vättern is the one lake where crayfishing on public water needs no permit. The rules are tight:
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| When | Friday 17:00 to Sunday 17:00, three weekends in a row from the fourth Friday in August |
| Where | Public water only; you may not fish public and private water on the same trip |
| Catch | 60 crayfish per person per day (120 a weekend), each at least 10 cm |
| Gear | Traps only, at most six per person; no diving, no other gear |
| Escape openings | Traps with mesh under 50 mm need two round openings of at least 28 mm, one on each side |
| Marking | White, yellow, orange or red buoy (15 cm across, or a 20 × 6 cm cylinder) with name, address, phone and “F”; mark a keep-net (sump) the same way |
The catch for visitors: the Fishing Act lets non-resident foreigners fish public water with hand tackle only unless a regulation allows more, and a trap is not hand tackle. No official page we read says whether the Vättern rule extends to non-residents. Our reading is that it probably doesn’t, so ask the county board (Länsstyrelsen) before you set traps.
Hjälmaren is not an alternative. Crayfishing on its public water needs a county permit, and that permit goes only to licensed commercial fishers.
Signal crayfish vs noble crayfish
Sweden has two freshwater crayfish, and they look alike.
| Feature | Signal crayfish (signalkräfta) | Noble crayfish (flodkräfta) |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | North American, planted from the 1960s | Native |
| Claw joint | White wart with a white-to-turquoise patch | Dark, often with a red wart |
| Claws | Broad and smooth | Long, almond-shaped, warty |
| Behind the head | Smooth | A row of small spikes you can feel |
| Status | EU invasive species; carries crayfish plague | Critically endangered |
| Where you may handle it live | Only inside the management area (Vänern and Dalälven and south) | — |
| Where it survives | — | Mainly northern and western Svealand, southern Norrland, the Norrland coast, Gotland, Öland |
Signal crayfish under 10 cm may not be kept and go back where you caught them. Fishing noble crayfish is not what threatens them. Losing them to plague is.
Crayfish plague: the rule that really matters
Crayfish plague (kräftpest) is a fungus-like disease that signal crayfish carry without usually falling ill. A noble crayfish dies two to three weeks after infection at 10 °C, and a whole population can go in weeks. Plague has hit close to 29,000 Swedish sites since 1907; about 98% of noble crayfish populations are gone and fewer than 1,000 remain. HaV thinks most outbreaks come from people moving infected or dead crayfish, and spores also travel in water, on gear, boats and fish.
That’s why these rules bind everyone, everywhere:
- Disinfect crayfish gear before using it in another water.
- Never keep, bait with or throw crayfish or crayfish parts in any water other than where they were caught, and never rinse or dump their packaging in another water.
- Never release or move fish or crayfish to another water without a county permit.
Two kinds of county decision tighten the rules further. In a crayfish-plague area (kräftpestsmittat område) catching crayfish is banned outright, as is buying, selling or transporting uncooked crayfish or using bait fish from another water. Gear and boats must be disinfected before they leave for another water. In a noble-crayfish protection area (skyddsområde för flodkräfta) you may not bring in uncooked crayfish from outside, use bait fish from elsewhere, or bring in gear, boats or waders used elsewhere without disinfecting them. Planting signal crayfish is banned there too.
How to disinfect: the Swedish veterinary agency SVA recommends heat (boiling, or dry heat in an oven or sauna), the disinfectant Virkon S, or, second-best, chlorine. Empty all water from boats, canoes and gear before you move. Take bait fish from the water you fish, or deep-freeze bait for at least a day. If you see sick-looking crayfish, or dead ones in numbers, tell the county board. Crayfish plague is a notifiable disease.
Moving and keeping crayfish
Signal crayfish are on the EU list of invasive alien species, so planting, farming and importing them are banned. Live or uncooked signal crayfish may only be fished and handled inside a management area (hanteringsområde). It covers Vänern and Dalälven and everything south, except Öland, Gotland, northern Bohuslän, western Värmland and Dalsland. A few named waters outside it have allowed signal crayfishing since 2020.
Inside the area, live signal crayfish may only travel from the fishing site to where they’ll be cooked. A private kitchen counts. Disinfect the containers and any water the crayfish were in. You may keep them in a keep-net in the same water while you fish, provided they can’t escape. Cooked crayfish carry no plague and are free to move.
Bringing live or uncooked freshwater crayfish into Sweden from abroad is banned. Cooked ones are fine.
The season and the kräftskiva
There’s no legal crayfish season any more. From the late 1800s until 1994, crayfishing was banned from November to early August. The opening, the kräftpremiär, was 7 August at 17:00, moved in 1982 to 17:00 on the first Wednesday in August. The ban is gone but the habit isn’t: Swedes still think of early August as crayfish time, and most crayfish parties (kräftskivor) happen in August. For the party itself, see our guide to the Swedish crayfish party.
Today the rights-holder sets the season on private water, and Vättern’s public weekends follow the fourth-Friday rule.
Mistakes to avoid
- Setting traps in a big lake under the free right. Crayfish are excluded there; it’s unauthorised fishing.
- Using the cottage’s traps without asking. Find out who holds the fishing right first.
- Moving a wet boat or traps straight to the next lake. Empty, disinfect, then move.
- Releasing leftover crayfish somewhere else. Cook them. Moving crayfish needs a permit.
- Waiting for an official opening day. There hasn’t been one since 1994.
Practical information
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Permission | Fishing-rights holder, everywhere except Vättern’s public water |
| Vättern public weekends 2027 | From Friday 27 August, 3 September and 10 September, 17:00 Friday–17:00 Sunday (checked 2026-09-25) |
| Vättern cost | Free, no permit (checked 2026-09-25) |
| Private-water permit | Price set by each rights-holder; no national price |
| Minimum size | 10 cm for signal crayfish, and in Vättern and Hjälmaren |
| Penalty for fishing without permission | Fines or up to one year in prison; catch and gear forfeited |
| Disinfection | Heat, Virkon S, or chlorine as second choice |
| Report sick crayfish | County board (Länsstyrelsen) |
FAQ
Do I need a permit to catch crayfish in Sweden?
Yes, almost everywhere. Crayfish are excluded from the free fishing right, even in the five big lakes, and a trap is not the hand tackle visitors may use freely. You need the permission of whoever holds the fishing right, often as a crayfish permit the owner sells to visitors. Vättern’s public weekends are the only exception.
When is crayfish season in Sweden?
There is no national season. Crayfishing was banned from November to early August until 1994, with the opening at 17:00 on 7 August, later the first Wednesday in August. The date lives on as a tradition, so crayfish parties happen in August. On private water the owner decides; Vättern’s public weekends start the fourth Friday in August.
Can tourists join the Vättern crayfish weekends?
Probably not, if you are not resident in Sweden. The weekends allow trap fishing on public water, but the Fishing Act lets non-resident foreign citizens fish public water only with hand tackle unless a regulation allows more. No official page addresses visitors directly. Ask the county board before setting traps, or fish private water with the owner’s permission.
How do I tell a signal crayfish from a noble crayfish?
Look at the claw joint. A signal crayfish has a white or turquoise patch there and broad, smooth claws. A noble crayfish has dark claws, often a red wart at the joint, and a row of small spikes behind the head that you can feel with a finger. The noble crayfish is native and critically endangered.
What is crayfish plague and how do I avoid spreading it?
Crayfish plague is a fungus-like disease carried by signal crayfish that kills noble crayfish, often a whole population within weeks. Spores travel in water, on gear, boats and fish. Empty all water, disinfect traps, boats and waders before using them in another water, and never move crayfish or their packaging to a different lake.
Can I take live crayfish home or to another lake?
Not to another lake: moving crayfish between waters needs a county permit, and planting signal crayfish is banned. Live signal crayfish may only go from the fishing site to a kitchen for cooking, inside the management area in southern and central Sweden. Bringing live crayfish into Sweden from abroad is also banned; cooked crayfish are fine.
Related guides
- The Swedish crayfish party: what happens at a kräftskiva once the crayfish are cooked
- Free fishing on the coast and the five big lakes: what the free right covers, and its other exceptions
- Buying a fiskekort: how permits from rights-holders work
- Where you may fish in Sweden: free water, permit water and gear hygiene for all fishing
- Swedish fishing rules: sizes, bag limits and protected species
Facts verified 2026-09-25. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Fishing Act and fisheries ordinance), Havs- och vattenmyndigheten, Statens veterinärmedicinska anstalt, Länsstyrelsen Örebro, Länsstyrelsen Värmland, Institutet för språk och folkminnen. Full register in this topic’s source file. Re-check the Vättern rules before late August. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.