This seems to be a very heavily debated topic among fish keepers and fishermen alike so I figured I'd get the opinions of some people on here. What do you personally see as an invasive/non native/harmful fish? Either in your specific area or somewhere else. To me, it varies depending on fish, I see some as extremely harmful whose introduced population needs to be eradicated, and for others I see them just as introduced or naturalized being much less of an impact (not saying it's ever smart to introduce non native fish but some are much less harmful than others). Here's how I feel about some local examples, I live in pa.
Common Carp: Not a very large threat at all if populations are managed wisely.
Grass Carp: Fertile grass carp are very much a threat because of the amount of vegetation they eat and should be removed as much as possible other than from private lakes, ponds, etc where they can't reproduce or a flood won't be able to carry them to a public waterway.
Rainbow Trout: Hardly a threat as they're very similar to native brook trout with similar diets and only slightly large size.
Brown Trout: More a threat than rainbows because they grow larger and eat more native cyprinid type fish than rainbows or brooks but still not a fish to over worry about unless overstocked.
Flathead Catfish (in the Sus. River): Highly a threat because of their immense hunger, large size, and predatory nature. However they may help to reduce the grass carp number so I'm still undecided on them in the Susquehanna. In their native pa rivers (ohio, mon, allegheny) they're of course native and should be treated well as they may aid in the population reduction of invasives like grass carp and keep common carp populations manageable plus theyre great sport fish.
Round Goby: The bane of my and fellow erie fishermens' existence. They're really good for nothing at all, they eat massive amounts of eggs of native fish and young fry. They're not big enough to be sport or food. They also eat zebra mussels which are also invasive but at least the mussels improve water quality. I never release a round goby when I fish for Erie, it's a fun time to watch seagulls fight over dead gobies while you're waiting for the next bite, they also don't leave you alone for the rest of the day though .
These are just my opinions on these fish and I'm curious as to your guys thoughts on these fish and others in your area and others.
Common Carp: Not a very large threat at all if populations are managed wisely.
Grass Carp: Fertile grass carp are very much a threat because of the amount of vegetation they eat and should be removed as much as possible other than from private lakes, ponds, etc where they can't reproduce or a flood won't be able to carry them to a public waterway.
Rainbow Trout: Hardly a threat as they're very similar to native brook trout with similar diets and only slightly large size.
Brown Trout: More a threat than rainbows because they grow larger and eat more native cyprinid type fish than rainbows or brooks but still not a fish to over worry about unless overstocked.
Flathead Catfish (in the Sus. River): Highly a threat because of their immense hunger, large size, and predatory nature. However they may help to reduce the grass carp number so I'm still undecided on them in the Susquehanna. In their native pa rivers (ohio, mon, allegheny) they're of course native and should be treated well as they may aid in the population reduction of invasives like grass carp and keep common carp populations manageable plus theyre great sport fish.
Round Goby: The bane of my and fellow erie fishermens' existence. They're really good for nothing at all, they eat massive amounts of eggs of native fish and young fry. They're not big enough to be sport or food. They also eat zebra mussels which are also invasive but at least the mussels improve water quality. I never release a round goby when I fish for Erie, it's a fun time to watch seagulls fight over dead gobies while you're waiting for the next bite, they also don't leave you alone for the rest of the day though .
These are just my opinions on these fish and I'm curious as to your guys thoughts on these fish and others in your area and others.