Post by Whiskers on Jul 26, 2007 18:48:59 GMT -6
From the Maryville Daily
By TORY MASON
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 8:30 PM CDT
Fisheries Management Biologist, MDC
We have all done it. We innocently stop by the local bait shop to get our bait before launching the boat on our favorite lake, eagerly anticipating if this will be the day the fish jump in the boat.
Without much thought, we stock up on night crawlers, crappie minnows, shad, creek chubs, crawdads, carp minnows, or green sunfish. Some of us catch our bait from a farm pond or local creek. Whichever way you get your bait, have you ever considered the impact the little critters you bait your hook with can have on your future fishing success?
Or worse, the “lucky” critters that fail to get used, and at the end of the day, get freed to live a happy life in their new home: your favorite lake? We all have heard stories of how someone caught a fish at one lake and released it at another in an attempt to improve the fishing. Like a bass angler whom, in an attempt to improve the fishing in their favorite lake, releases gizzard shad because they heard shad help bass grow to 10 pounds?
Few anglers realize the impact these illegal fish stockings can have on the aquatic ecosystem, or that it is illegal to dump your bait bucket, or stock fish into public waters. The Wildlife Code of Missouri reads: No bird, fish, crayfish, mussel, amphibian, reptile, mammal, or other form of wildlife, including their eggs, may be liberated to the wild in any manner, number, part, parcel or quantity, at any time. Simply put as far as bait goes, you cannot take something living you use for bait or catch legally from one place, and release somewhere else. In fact, you cannot even possess living invasive species such as bighead and silver carp.
Why is this so important? Consider the food web: Native species coexist with a delicate ecological balance that uses nutrients to provide energy from the tiniest of things like plankton, which provide food for newly hatched fish, which serve as food for larger game fish.
For example, largemouth bass spawn just before bluegill so that bass fry that start out eating plankton are big enough by the time the bluegill produce a gazillion young to provide food for the young bass. Young bass grow quickly in a situation like this, and a good year class is on the way to provide exceptional bass fishing in the future.
But what if the plankton isn’t there when the bass fry hatch? When a lake has numerous gizzard shad, they directly compete with young of the year bass. The young bass compete with shad for the limited plankton, and as a result, fewer survive, and those that do survive grow slowly.
Bluegill and crappie will be constantly competing with shad for food and space as well, and their size structure will suffer. So, the angler who illegally stocked shad with good intentions ultimately hurts the fishery.
The problem does not end there. Many local catfish anglers use carp minnows for bait. Carp minnows stay alive longer than other bait choices, and flathead catfish gobble them up. But, what happens at the end of the day when the catfish angler has a dozen carp minnows left over? Hopefully, they dispose of them far away from the lake or river they are fishing, but unfortunately, some get released into the wild. Non-native species such as the common carp can make waters so turbid that eggs of native fish cannot survive. Carp also uproot aquatic vegetation that provides habitat and oxygen to the ecosystem. Still want to “free” your carp minnows?
Once introduced, fish like common carp and gizzard shad frequently thrive in their new environment, where they can quickly take up biomass that could otherwise be game fish. These species produce many young, and quickly alter the ecology and impact an established fishery that everyone enjoys. The next time you hear someone say they are going to help the lake by stocking more fish by dumping their bait bucket into another body of water, remind them of the possible consequences. They may think they are doing something positive, but let them know the truth: Illegal stockings will ultimately hurt your favorite fishing hole.
Illegal introductions create situations that are difficult to manage and unwanted by all. Do your part to help prevent the illegal introduction of fishes into your favorite waters by reporting wildlife violations. If we work together now, we can ensure healthy aquatic ecosystems into the future. Please call the Missouri Department of Conservation with questions or concerns at 816-271-3100, or to report a violation to operation game thief, call 1-800-392-1111.
By TORY MASON
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2007 8:30 PM CDT
Fisheries Management Biologist, MDC
We have all done it. We innocently stop by the local bait shop to get our bait before launching the boat on our favorite lake, eagerly anticipating if this will be the day the fish jump in the boat.
Without much thought, we stock up on night crawlers, crappie minnows, shad, creek chubs, crawdads, carp minnows, or green sunfish. Some of us catch our bait from a farm pond or local creek. Whichever way you get your bait, have you ever considered the impact the little critters you bait your hook with can have on your future fishing success?
Or worse, the “lucky” critters that fail to get used, and at the end of the day, get freed to live a happy life in their new home: your favorite lake? We all have heard stories of how someone caught a fish at one lake and released it at another in an attempt to improve the fishing. Like a bass angler whom, in an attempt to improve the fishing in their favorite lake, releases gizzard shad because they heard shad help bass grow to 10 pounds?
Few anglers realize the impact these illegal fish stockings can have on the aquatic ecosystem, or that it is illegal to dump your bait bucket, or stock fish into public waters. The Wildlife Code of Missouri reads: No bird, fish, crayfish, mussel, amphibian, reptile, mammal, or other form of wildlife, including their eggs, may be liberated to the wild in any manner, number, part, parcel or quantity, at any time. Simply put as far as bait goes, you cannot take something living you use for bait or catch legally from one place, and release somewhere else. In fact, you cannot even possess living invasive species such as bighead and silver carp.
Why is this so important? Consider the food web: Native species coexist with a delicate ecological balance that uses nutrients to provide energy from the tiniest of things like plankton, which provide food for newly hatched fish, which serve as food for larger game fish.
For example, largemouth bass spawn just before bluegill so that bass fry that start out eating plankton are big enough by the time the bluegill produce a gazillion young to provide food for the young bass. Young bass grow quickly in a situation like this, and a good year class is on the way to provide exceptional bass fishing in the future.
But what if the plankton isn’t there when the bass fry hatch? When a lake has numerous gizzard shad, they directly compete with young of the year bass. The young bass compete with shad for the limited plankton, and as a result, fewer survive, and those that do survive grow slowly.
Bluegill and crappie will be constantly competing with shad for food and space as well, and their size structure will suffer. So, the angler who illegally stocked shad with good intentions ultimately hurts the fishery.
The problem does not end there. Many local catfish anglers use carp minnows for bait. Carp minnows stay alive longer than other bait choices, and flathead catfish gobble them up. But, what happens at the end of the day when the catfish angler has a dozen carp minnows left over? Hopefully, they dispose of them far away from the lake or river they are fishing, but unfortunately, some get released into the wild. Non-native species such as the common carp can make waters so turbid that eggs of native fish cannot survive. Carp also uproot aquatic vegetation that provides habitat and oxygen to the ecosystem. Still want to “free” your carp minnows?
Once introduced, fish like common carp and gizzard shad frequently thrive in their new environment, where they can quickly take up biomass that could otherwise be game fish. These species produce many young, and quickly alter the ecology and impact an established fishery that everyone enjoys. The next time you hear someone say they are going to help the lake by stocking more fish by dumping their bait bucket into another body of water, remind them of the possible consequences. They may think they are doing something positive, but let them know the truth: Illegal stockings will ultimately hurt your favorite fishing hole.
Illegal introductions create situations that are difficult to manage and unwanted by all. Do your part to help prevent the illegal introduction of fishes into your favorite waters by reporting wildlife violations. If we work together now, we can ensure healthy aquatic ecosystems into the future. Please call the Missouri Department of Conservation with questions or concerns at 816-271-3100, or to report a violation to operation game thief, call 1-800-392-1111.
