Catching invasive species...

[Matthew Longley]

General question I've been thinking about--and I'm sure we'll get some strongly differing opinions--but when you are fishing local waters, do you ever remove fish you happen to catch that are recent transplants and might be harmful to the current established species?  I'm trying to be careful with my words here, because yes I know that LMB and SMB are not native to here, and I'm not trying to start up that debate.

So snakeheads we are obviously encouraged to remove from the watershed.  Was reading an old post on 4MR and saw the giant nile tilapia someone pulled up.  Is that a species that is making a move into the potomac?  As conscientious sportsmen, should we be thinking twice about throwing them back?  What about blue cats as opposed to channels?

Been thinking about this recently and thought there was an interesting conversation there.

[NixieDC]

Matthew,

Good posting and question.

As someone who's been flyfishing for nearly 20 years now, I don't think I've ever eaten anything I've caught on a fly.

Having written that, 12 years ago was fishing Yellowstone, specifically Cave Falls. USPS ranger told us to take out 2 rainbows/day, as they are/were the invasive species in Yellowstone. One could tell the difference between bows v. browns and cutthroats. Bows much more aggressive.

[TurbineBlade]

In my opinion, if someone is following the regulations -- then there isn't a problem.  For example, if it isn't illegal to release a snakehead, regardless of how you feel about it, you don't have a right to 'burn' them up for doing so.  

When it comes down to it, anything like this that ends up in court will be 100% tied to the interpretation of the regs.  Nothing more.  Feelings, opinions, personal moral standards, and sometimes even common sense will be completely useless and will not matter in the least.  

I've harvested numerous fish and killed a lot of birds -- Beth bow hunts every fall and we get a freezer full of deer meat most of the time.  It is in accordance with the regs and we have no problem with it.

If I caught a snakehead I would certainly kill it instantly and remove the head...hopefully out of sight of kids, who may not understand ;). 

I'm one of the ones who caught the tilapia earlier this summer/fall and I chose to release it.  I would have no problem killing it instantly, but bystanders where watching (including 2 kids) and I didn't want to have to explain why I'm throwing a live fish onto the bank or why I'm repeatedly bashing it with a rock (didn't have a knife that day).  I was also thinking it was a cichlid species with a thermal minimum that would not survive the winter anyway (as would a snakehead), but I may be wrong in that thought.  Anyway, that's what I did -- too late now.  And nothing illegal.  If someone else wants to catch and kill it, great -- that's fine.  If I caught it again and no one was looking, I may chose to kill it now knowing that it (possibly) survived the winter.  

Of course, if you want to extend the argument to absurd extremes, you could (morally if not legally) argue that all carp should be beheaded on the bank and never released.....or SM bass, or brown and rainbow trout.  

That's why the "regs" test works well.  "Your" personal fishing standards, applied to everyone else are useless.  I have my own but I try not to use them to judge others.  To me, is it legal?  Yes or no.  

Gene

[r...@robsnowhite.com]

Gene, I had 10 year olds shouting " cut its head off" when I caught mine in the tidal basin. Here are some demented rug rats out there. Don't give them so much credit. 

Here is a list of fish in the river before humans dumped in foreign fishes 

http://www.potomacriver.org/2012/masterfishlist.pdf

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[Eric Y.]

Wait, did I read that right? Cutthroat currently in the Potomac/tributaries?

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[r...@robsnowhite.com]

North branch of the Potomac has cutts. The potomac is a big system with lots of varying habitat. 

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[TurbineBlade]

Touche Rob ;).  I need to remember to keep my standards lower ;). 

 

Gene