fisher12889;4134128; said:
Introducing some aquarium fish such into some lakes, ponds, in America is not illegal for every type of fish. Some places they are and some arent, just depends on the fish being released. Goldfish, Koi, etc are legal in KY, but in Maine its not. An aquarium fish can be any fish, not just exotics. If Goldfish were not to be released or fall of your hook while fishing, etc, then it would be illegal to fish or own a goldfish in KY. You can use them in any water in KY. If they are worried about a Goldfish takeover on KY they would ban it, but apparently they arent. Whats the difference if I release an aquarium goldfish with the possibility of disease or get one for bait at the local bait shop with the possibility of disease? What are the chances of disease from both? Very remote but always a possibility, are there any documented, reported cases of such that they can prove an aquarium released fish infected a pond and killed fish? Just so you know there are wild populations of Wild Goldfish in KY and they arent taking our "native" species over. KY even has a Goldfish State Record. Im not saying or telling anyone its ok to put fish in the lakes, rivers, etc but if they are already there such as this guys goldfish then he is perfectly fine to be released. If its illegal to throw back in a fish that is on the "list" then by all means, dispose of it.
See this statement:Carp, such as grass, black, and silver, as well as goldfish are among the most destructive non-indigenous species in North America, primarily because of their diet of aquatic vegetation. These species strip waters of oxygen-producing plants, thus increasing water temperatures and destroying habitat for native juvenile fish. In addition, the feeding habits of carp and goldfish stir up sediments, which decreases water clarity and inhibit plant growth."
If Grass Carp are so destructive then why is it a government protected fish in most states that when caught must be released ASAP unharmed? I understand silver and bighead because they reproduce like crazy, but most Grass Carp sold are sterile, but not all. Almost every lake I have been to that had Grass Carp in it, that lake was crystal clear. Seems like people like to put the blame on big fish when the pond is always murky. There can be many factors to cause this so its not fair to pin it on them, and carp are almost always to blame. The carp lakes in Europe are GORGEOUS, they dont seem to have an issue with them and I think its the biggest or one of the biggest industries for fish there. That quote was from Alaskas DNR site.
What about when people catch a bass, gill, channel and put it in their tank and then let it go, since they are native species is it ok to release them back into the wild or is that a no no?
There are so many fish that dont belong and are not native to where they are now, the government and people like you and I have released all the species all over NA and they do it over seas. Need proof? Where did the tie of the Largemouth Bass just come from? Japan! And they call it a nuisance fish, no disease outbreak there, no overtaking of native fish, etc.
This is an excerpt from Indiana DNR: "Goldfish stay fairly small, but do sometimes get up to 10 or 12 inches long. Since they stay small, most predators can feed on them, so it is less likely that their population can get out of control. I rarely see goldfish during surveys which shows they are not really a problem."
From Florida: Use of goldfish or carp as bait is also unlawful
And if you do have pond that is over run by any species of fish, its due to poor fish management. If the balance isnt right such as the ratio to bass and bluegill, then the bluegill population may be very high or the bluegill will be very large and vice versa including Gold Fish and any other fish.
Read here http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/blogs/fishing/2009/10/27/record-time-again/
There we go again, fish not native to that area doing just fine. There are cases I have heard of diseases that only seem to pertain to that state so while remote, introduction of this fish to NE may have been catastrophic by how some of you talk on here. But it wasnt, imagine that.
Oscars are from South America, Im sure there are disease there we dont have here and we may even share the same diseases but yet again we have a huge population of them in Florida and what are the consequences for this? None, there isnt any. Its a fun fish to catch and eat. Im surprised we dont have Largemouth Bass with hole in the head swimming around in Florida since Oscars are known for that.
In this reading, everything is either potential or appears to but no one knows for certain.
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/FISH/InNews/flood2004.htm now go down to where is reads there not all bad and tell me what you think.
This statement is true for every single state in America: No one can say with any certainty what impacts these migrants have had or will have on the ecosystem. At best, scientists' understanding of these systems is incomplete
Remember the circus cat or walking catfish? Remember what they said about it walking to other ponds and killing off all the fish? What happened with that?? Nothing again!!! Becker notes that worry abounded in the 1970s that the walking catfish, an exotic, which is native to Asia, would decimate local fisheries. It never happened.
This has been going on for YEARS, ever since the fish trade began and its not going to stop no matter how educated people get. There will always be someone that breaks the law.
The states ban, unban, ban, unban things all the time, they dont seem to know one way or the other. If they did they would stick with a ban or not.
Its just like drugs and crime, every state has their own law, you can kill someone in KY and get 10 years, you kill someone in Texas, you get the death penalty for the same exact crime. Seems like murder would be like the snakehead ban across the US, no snakeheads whatsoever, murder should result in the death penalty no matter what state you committed the crime.
This is what most of you all act like an end-of-the-ecosystem-as-we-know-it type of hysteria
Remember the Bulls-eye Snakehead on River Monsters and how its supposed to be an epidemic, well they were found in 2000 and I want someone to tell me what ecological hazard these fish have caused. NONE! See this part The Bulls-eye Snakehead, for instance, cannot be eradicated or trapped out of existence. Its here to stay, unless they somehow disappear on their own, something no one is expecting them to do Shafland said. I said the same exact thing in my post before this. Imagine that.. Maybe you all can read this as well http://fishing.about.com/od/fishfacts/a/aasnakeheadpr.htm
I can keep going and going with this.
I think people need to give it a rest; its not the end of the world for our fish in America.
