[5] ISAB Weighs In On Invasive Species
The Independent Scientific Advisory Board has recommended that state fishery agencies declare open season on certain species of fish like smallmouth bass and channel catfish that are not native to the Columbia Basin. It's sure to give some fish managers heartburn because there are programs in place to enhance the numbers of some of these predators. But the ISAB said the Northwest Power and Conservation Council should urge state agencies to find ways like this to reduce the numbers of non-native predators, especially the ones that prey on young salmonids.
Bass fishing in the Snake River Canyon.
--courtesy www.reeltimefish.com
Other recommendations in the new ISAB report call for improving enforcement of current regulations, and the exploratory surveillance and monitoring of plant and animal populations to get a jump on preventing their proliferation. They also said a thorough risk assessment should be conducted before any resident fish substitution project, or introduction or enhancement of a non-native species is begun.
The science panel said the non-native species issue should get a boost in priority equivalent to other important concerns like habitat loss, climate change, and human population growth and development.
They said some introduced species like shad now pose serious competition to juvenile fall chinook for food and habitat. Shad also carry a protozoan salmon parasite. -B. R.
The following links were mentioned in this story:
Subscriptions and Feedback
Subscribe to the Fishletter notification e-mail list.
Send e-mail comments to the editor.
THE ARCHIVE :: Previous NW Fishletter issues and supporting documents.
NW Fishletter is produced by Energy NewsData.
Publisher: Cyrus Noë, Editor: Bill Rudolph
Phone: (206) 285-4848 Fax: (206) 281-8035
