The evidence of our ignorance / indiscretion

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Man, thats just sad.

We have a knife fish infestation in one of our major lakes that's really damaging the aquaculture therein. Its attributed to fish that escaped when the big floods came. Same thing happened with dams now with giant snakeheads and rivers infested with plecos.

Usually, the predators consume the endemic species causing the biotope to eventually crash. Even the fishermen are feeling the wrath of the invasive. I'm not familiar with the fish in florida but knowing how voracious the marble is, it could have very scary implications especially if they breed and thrive.


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Oddball said:
The only government-sponsored RTC release program I've heard of is in Thailand to boost the tourist fishing industry.
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If i become a congressman, i'll seriously consider doing this in a more controlled environment. I always see awesome fishing pics/sites in thailand. Did it actually help their economy? Did it destroy, in any way, the ecology of the place where they were released?


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Oddball said:
The only government-sponsored RTC release program I've heard of is in Thailand to boost the tourist fishing industry.
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If I had to guess, that's because it was not problematic for the RTCs to survive in Thailand, i.e., successful and well exploited / developed. Now, I've not done any digging deeper than what FishBase states in RTC "Biology" Section: Feeds on fish, crabs and fruits (Ref. 6868). The species is introduced but not established in Florida. http://www.fishbase.us/summary/Phractocephalus-hemioliopterus.html

Note no reference for the last statement... but I'd not think this would refer to sporadic illegal releases.

bobVillanueva said:
I always see awesome fishing pics/sites in thailand. Did it actually help their economy? Did it destroy, in any way, the ecology of the place where they were released?
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I'd like to know this too but no time to research as of now.
 
thebiggerthebetter said:
... Now, I've not done any digging deeper than what FishBase states in RTC "Biology" Section: Feeds on fish, crabs and fruits (Ref. 6868). The species is introduced but not established in Florida. http://www.fishbase.us/summary/Phractocephalus-hemioliopterus.html Note no reference for the last statement... but I'd not think this would refer to sporadic illegal releases.
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The hook's baited. We are fishing:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...in-Florida-quot-Anyone-knows-more-(9-Viewing)

http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=41844#p285325
 
WTF don't they have in Florida?!?! On the invasive/exotic cichlids I know there's tilapia, temensis Pbass, oscars, red devils, mayan cichlida, acaras and more. And on the other more exotic side they have Snakeheads, clown knife fish, pacus and walking catfish... YOU HAD ONE JOB FLORIDA.
 
Wade spots a silver arowana off Miami International Airport.

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/outdoors/article17123834.html ..." With season seven of Animal Planet’s popular series River Monsters set to debut Sunday, host Jeremy Wade took a busman’s holiday in Miami a week ago — and made an unexpected discovery.

Wade — a biologist, angler and outdoors journalist — wasn’t on a hunt for new monsters to catch and release; he intended to spend the day sight-fishing for bedding peacock bass in the network of freshwater lakes and canals adjacent to Miami International Airport. So what happened next was surprising.

Guided by Drew Gregg of Davie, Wade and a companion succeeded in their peacock quest, catching and releasing seven of the colorful transplanted Amazonians to about 2 pounds using artificial lures. But they were startled by what else they found among the peacocks: another invader from the Amazon — a two-foot aruana swimming freely near the surface of a residential canal. The fish had a long, ribbon-like body and relatively large scales. Unlike the peacocks, which were intentionally stocked in the local canal system by fisheries biologists in the 1980s, this exotic clearly didn’t belong.

Wade identified the aruana right away, having previously caught and released the species in Brazil.

“The biggest one I’ve caught was 8 or 9 pounds, about three feet long,” Wade said. “If you are fishing for them, they can be shy or they can be really bold at times.”

Once, Wade said, he was casting along a river bank and his lure got caught in an overhanging tree branch.

“You just shake it and they’ll jump up out of the water to get it,” he said.

But this aruana was on the shy side, swimming away from Gregg’s boat. The guide said he was confident it would remain in the general area because he had seen it there the week before his trip with Wade. Wade’s companion reported the sighting by email to Kelly Gestring, a non-native fisheries biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Afterward, Wade shook his head, incredulous. “The fact that you’ve got fish native to the Amazon and catch them right here by Miami Airport…” he said, trailing off.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/outdoors/article17123834.html#storylink=cpy
 
https://gma.yahoo.com/3-000-plus-in...-whole-colorado-152609378--abc-news-pets.html

How These 3,000-Plus Invasive Goldfish Are Threatening a Whole Colorado Lake Ecosystem

"Colorado wildlife officials say they believe someone dumped four to five pet goldfish in a Boulder lake about two years ago, and they have now multiplied to over 3,000 to 4,000 fish.

Because the goldfish are a non-native species, they threaten Teller Lake #5's entire aquatic ecosystem, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill told ABC News today.

"Dumping your pets into a lake could bring diseases to native animals and plants as well as out-compete them for resources," Churchill said. "Everything can be affected. Non-native species can potentially wipe out the fishery as we've put it together."

Fish that are native to the lake that are now being threatened by the invasive goldfish include channel catfish, blue gill fish and sun fish, Churchill said.

Wildlife officials are seeking information on anyone who may have released the goldfish into the lake, she said.

CPW is currently considering two solutions -- electroshocking the fish or draining the lake.

"With electroshocking, you go in the boat and stun the fish to paralyze and collect them," Churchill said, adding that the shock doesn't kill the fish. "The fish could also be collected if the lake is drained."

Either way, wildlife officials will likely take them to a raptor rehabilitation center, where the fish will be used for feeding, Churchill said.

Although a few residents have expressed interest in collecting the goldfish to keep them as pets, Churchill said she doesn't want to encourage the practice.

"I'm going to talk to Boulder County, who owns the lake to see what they think, but I don't want to send the message that collecting fish for personal fun is okay," Churchill said."
 
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