Why you should NEVER release any fish

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teleost

Feeder Fish
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Sep 9, 2005
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This subject seems to come up often but I can't recall a dedicated thread for it. Each and every state in the union has laws against release of any fish (native or otherwise) into the natural waters of the state. The law will usually read something like this..."May release fish immediately upon capture into the waters from which it was removed". There are so many points to cover when talking about this horrible practice I think I'll only try and begin cover one for now.

In the image you'll see two little headwater creeks in my home state. If you were to take fish from one stream and place them in the other you might think what the heck...the streams are within walking distance, what could that hurt. This might be walking distance for you and me but these two creeks happen to be separated by over 1000 river miles. The fish the live in these streams might look the same to you and me but I'll be in the future we might learn these fish have distinct attributes that time from living this great water distance apart have created. If the fishes that you introduce spawn with the existing and potentially distinct population the fish are permanently destroyed. This is simply something you cannot "undo"

Since this just one aspect (that even hasn't been fully covered) I hope others can add to the list of damaging effects release can bring to not only the wild fish but our hobby as a whole.
 

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Skipjack

Feeder Fish
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Jul 5, 2006
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Teleost has stated one of the most important arguments for not releasing fish. LOSS OF GENETIC DIVERSITY.
I will delve into disease issues, another important one.
Anyone ever hear about how Native Americans were heavily aflicted with smallpox after the white man came to North America? Europeans, had developed a fairly good resistance to the disease, but Native Americans, never having been exposed to the disease were nearly wiped out in a given village.
Our native fish have ZERO resistance to diseases that seem minor to tropical fish, or even from fish introduced from another region.
Release of fish that have been captive, could introduce pathogens into our waterways, and cause major fish kills. This has been exibited with the recent outbreak of VHS in the great lakes.
If you are interested in keeping native fish you should be responsible enough to be a friend to them also, and insure that you never allow this to happen.
Release of captive native fish is NOT AN OPTION!
If you release fish, you are no friend to our native fish, and it would be best that you remove yourself from the native fish hobby.
 

Skipjack

Feeder Fish
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Oh, Sandtiger, this may be worth pinning, or making sticky. Matt
 

Derpeder

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Good stuff!!! This is all stuff I was unaware of until I fount this forum.

Thanks for the info!!!
 

nativelover

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so when the DFG stocks fish their commiting a crime right? and after these fish are stocked they breed with the native populations (its not like they stick together or anything) this is specially true with bass, sunfish, and catfish.

Im not so sure that all this talk of messing with the genes of the species is THE REASON to not let fish go in local water ways.

it also has to do with non native fish possibly taking over, introducing diseases to the population and also the fish you release could very well die in a matter of days (not that that would effect the echosystem, but you raised this fish and thought you were giving it a better lif only for it to die son after).
 

Chad55

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Sticky! I was actually thinking today that we needed something like this. Good info :) .

Chad
 

sandtiger

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Skipjack;789355; said:
Oh, Sandtiger, this may be worth pinning, or making sticky. Matt
I knew I would sticky it the second I read the title and knew who started it.;)

I agree with everything teleost and skipjack have said thus far. The problem is getting people to care. For me it's easy. One of the reason I love fish is because the remarkable diversity they possess, not just in species but also within species. Be they African rift lake cichlids or cuthroat trout subspecies in the western U.S. Fish are unlike many other animals, it's very easy for them to become genetically isolated. This leads to rapid evolution of new species and makes them very interesting for me. People need to appreciate that more then a fish's ability to dispatch prey.
 

theanimalman

Feeder Fish
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Sep 9, 2005
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A huge part of the overall picture comes down to Magagement. Fish and Wildlife MANAGEMENT. Most of the laws and rules are in place for good reason. Its up to the state division of fish and wildlife to decide the MANAGEMENT of the fish and wildlife. It comes down to the state knowing what they are doing when they are introducing new fish to new waterways. They MANAGE the fish in those waterways.
 

sandtiger

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nativelover;789381; said:
so when the DFG stocks fish their commiting a crime right? and after these fish are stocked they breed with the native populations (its not like they stick together or anything) this is specially true with bass, sunfish, and catfish.
Yes, they are commiting a crime. Back in the 1800's pioneers came to live in the area around the Twin Lakes Reservoir, home of the Yellowfin cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki macdonaldi), a subspecies of cutthroat trout that exists in no other place in the world other then the Twin lakes resevoir. Because of fishing and stocking of non-native trout (rainbow, brown and lake trout) this subspecies, genetically isolated for so many years went extinct within 20 years.
Fish and Game have no buisness stocking fish. Brown trout don't belong in the U.S. Largemouth bass and bluegill don't belong on the Pacific coast. Rainbow trout don't belong in the east and brook trout don't belong in the west. What they have done and continue to do are IMO crimes against nature and proof that they are working for the almighty doller (the fishermen's dollers) and not for the natural world.

Im not so sure that all this talk of messing with the genes of the species is THE REASON to not let fish go in local water ways.
There are many reasons and it's definantly one of them.

Yellowfin cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki macdonaldi)

Painting by James Prosek
 
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