The amazing survival story behind Sea Life Sydney Aquarium’s newest resident

At a time when most headlines are bringing us nothing by woe, this epic story of survival against the odds has the happy ending we all need right now. Saved from both the dinner plate and the dumpster, Pinchy the crayfish might just be the luckiest crustacean in the world, and when restrictions lift, you can see the little guy living his best life at the city’s largest aquarium. 

The story begins with a chance encounter between a crayfish and a kindly garbo. During his routine collections last month, Matt, a Sydney-based waste removal worker, and his partner Donna came across a styrofoam container next to a dumpster behind a restaurant in Pyrmont. As the usual protocol for rubbish such as this is to break it down before chucking it into the compactor, Matt took off the lid of the disposable cool box and to his surprise, found a live crayfish inside. This little fella had been destined to be someone’s supper, but he’d been inadvertently thrown away before he could end up on the plate. 

_{Pinchy the Crayfish when he was found}

Instead of adding the crayfish to garbage in the back of his collections truck, Matt decided to give Pinchy another go at life, bringing him to the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium's Animal Rescue Centre, where staff rehabilitated him and introduced him to the freshwater tanks. Donna said: “We thought it was a dead crayfish at first, but then it started to slowly move and we realised it was alive. So we searched online for some advice, came across the aquarium’s animal rescue centre, and called them. To our relief, they offered to take the crayfish into their care. We hoped he’d survive, but we were ecstatic when we heard that not only had he made a full recovery, but now he was going to become a resident at the aquarium.”

Daniel Sokolnikoff, the displays supervisor at Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, said the Pinchy was “one very lucky crayfish”.

“After his mandatory 14-day isolation stint in Sea Life Sydney’s quarantine area, and some tender loving care, we’re pleased to share that Pinchy passed his health assessment and his story has a happy ending.”

Pinchy now lives in one of the freshwater exhibits, alongside his new tankmates including six lungfish, archerfish, spotted gars and snakehead turtles. 

If you come across any injured or sick marine animals, you can call the Sea Life Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Centre on 0402 783 455.