Langoustine are seawater dwelling crustaceans. They spend the first two or three years of their lives in burrows on the seabed. This is where the eggs laid by female crayfish are hatched. Once they reach maturity they venture out to explore the marine world. At this point they become vulnerable to being caught by fishing fleets trawling the seabed. Their burrow dwelling habits in the early years are thought to be a good means of protection from overfishing. Females also spend long period in the burrows when they are bearing eggs. Langoustine are scavengers and feed off other crustacean and small worms. They are a delicacy much better appreciated in continental Europe than by the UK population. Oddly enough a survey of burrows suggest that the UK supports a massive population of langoustine with an estimate 10 billion of the creature living in UK waters.
