Destroying Our Natives

Americans, and well...humans as a whole, have a desire to try and improve everyone and everything all the time.  The problem is that our "improvements" come at the detriment of something else almost every time, and we then have to try and go back and fix the mess we created.  That cost money and doesn't always work to restore everything to the natural balance.  In my eyes, this is most evident in our wildlife, especially our fish, populations.

We have a tendency to push out the natives in order to bring in superior species.  I know this example is not related to this article, but think about what we did to the Native Americans.  We have been doing, and continue to do, the same thing to our native wildlife populations.  Now think about the natural diversity of the native fishes swimming your rivers, lakes, and streams.  Does your government introduce non-native species to "better" your local fisheries?

I have written about the dangers of introducing species many times in articles such as The Plight of the Guadalupe Bass, and even proposed my idea to help correct some of these issues in the article Harvesting Bass in Rivers and Streams.  I would encourage you to read those articles as well as other articles that I will talk about in during this post.  Gather all the facts, then pressure your local, state, and national governments, to restore and protect the natural beauty of your own native species.

Yesterday, I read an article from the Denver Post about the Greenback Cutthroat Trout.  The article talks about the last remaining stretch of water that still has pure Greenback Cutthroats swimming around.  All that is left for this fish is a 4 mile stretch of creek.  The rest of the waters have been polluted by the introduction of the "superior" Rainbow Trout.  These Rainbows were first introduced to Colorado waters in 1888 and are still being stocked in those waters Today.

If you have not read, An Entirely Synthetic Fish: How Rainbow Trout Beguiled America and Overran the World, by Anders Halverson, you need to.  The book discusses the history of trout stocking in the United States, some of the benefits, and some of the drawbacks that went along with this.  It also talks about the disgusting poisoning of 450 miles of the Green River, in order to wipe out all the fish and start with a clean slate of water to stock the Rainbow.

Well it turns out that these stocked Rainbows out-bred, hybridized, and replaced the native trout species (not only the Greenbacks and not only in Colorado) with the help and money of the government, even becoming the State Fish of Colorado for a while.  It is sad to see this continuing to this day just because the rainbow is seen as a better species in some peoples eyes.  True, the rainbow trout does grow larger than most native species, and it is more likely to fall for a fly than brown trout, but why does this make it a better fish?  Why do we have to continue to tinker with God's creation?

This deliberate introduction of "superior species" has not only occurred with trout.  I has also occurred with black bass, and many other fish for that matter.  The Guadalupe Bass, which is close to my home and close to my heart, always come to my mind first.  Texas Parks and Wildlife, in a effort to improve sport fishing in the rivers of the Texas Hill Country, introduced Smallmouth Bass in 1974.  Stocking continued for a while.  These Smallmouth bass eventually out-bred, hybridized, and replaced the native Guadalupe Bass in the rivers and streams of the Edwards Plateau.   

Texas has done a good job of re-introducing the native Guadalupe Bass into some of its native waters.  Enough money has been spent on the South Llano River and stretches of other waters, stocking enough pure strain Guadalupe Bass to out spawn and out compete the introduced Smallmouths, but much more still needs to be done, and Smallmouth are still stocked in waters here in Texas to this day!

Rivers, such as the Devils River in Texas, have become trophy Smallmouth Bass fisheries due to the introduction of the fish.  And it is true that these fish are not hybridizing with or pushing out a small local native bass, or leading to ones extinction in the Devils River, but the Smallmouth does compete with the native strain of Largemouth Bass for food and habitat, and in turn lowers the numbers of Largemouth Bass in that River (which can also grow to trophy size in the Devils.)  

It is also not always the fault of the governments that we have introduced invasive species of fish that are destroying our waters.  Regular old Joes often release new species into our waters all the time, both intentionally and unintentionally.  We are all aware of the issues that the Snakehead causes to native fish populations, and the money being spent on research and prevention of carp in the Great Lakes.  Non-native fish can destroy fisheries.  Destroying fisheries and species of fish cost money in the long run.  We need to do everything we can to prevent these issues from happening in the first place.

Just recently Steve Gibson, a fellow kayak angler from Florida, caught a Cichlid on a fly rod.  One fish may not be a huge issue, but if a breeding population is established, local species could be hurt.  Most likely this fish was released from someone's fish tank, but it is possible that this is the offspring of a breeding pair of cichlids that were released a long time ago.  

Also, I recently read another article about a Pacu, a relative of the Piranha, that was caught in a body of water here in Texas.  This is not first time this has happened.  I know this fish live in the San Marcos River in Central Texas as well.  These fish are very aggressive and could potentially ruin a river system.  Other fish, such as the Plecostomus, have been released in the San Marcos river too, and although they may not directly hurt the native species, they indirectly through their destruction of habitat in the river, can and will ravage a river system.  

Intentionall and unintentional introduction of species of fish, both by governments and individuals, simply put, is not a good idea.  Don't do it yourself, and don't encourage any person or government to do it.  It can lead to the destruction of a fishery.  If you catch an exotic or introduced species, immediately remove that fish from the water.  In fact, in many, if not all states, it is illegal to release some of these fish back into the water.  Take it home, cook it up, and eat it.  Species like the snakehead are great eating.  

Part of the problem is that with many of these fish, originally introduced and continuing to be stocked by the government for the "benefit" of the fishery, catch and release is still preached.  And although they may be fun to catch, we need to stop the stocking and encourage the removal of non-native species of fish, such as the Rainbow Trout and the Smallmouth Bass in waters where they are not native.  We need to encourage catch and release of the native fish in order to preserve the integrity of the remaining few fish we have and hopefully restore the species back to their prominence.

Promoting the species for what it is, and noting the trophy that is catching a beautiful fish in it's native waters, amongst anglers is the best way to protect our local fish.  Just because the Guadalupe Bass may be smaller than a Smallmouth Bass, or a Greenback Cutthrout may be smaller that a Rainbow, does not make these fish any less of trophies.

Please take care of your waters and spread the word.  Encourage your governments to stock more native species and STOP the stocking of non-natives.  If we all work together, we can make a difference and we will protect our waters.