invasive species

[BassInVt]

So there has been a lot of talk lately off and on about invasive species. The reason i brought this up because every now and then someone is talking about them. I have my own thoughts and want to see what other people are thinking on these. thank you

white perch
black crappy? are they considered invasive?
hybred notherns???are they considered invasive?
red finned northerns???are they considered invasive?
sea lamprey
native lamprey?? are they really native??
spiney water flea?? anyone seeing any of these yet ??
giant river chubs?? are they considered native or invasive??

any others and whats your thoughts on these??

[perchhauler]

I don't believe hybrids are considered invasive as they are naturally occurring and can't reproduce.  I've never heard of giant river chubs before, are they in Vermont? I know there are a few other invasives in champlain: zebra mussels,  rudd, tench, buffalo,  and alewives are few that come to mind. 

[nateicefisherman1984]

So there has been a lot of talk lately off and on about invasive species. The reason i brought this up because every now and then someone is talking about them. I have my own thoughts and want to see what other people are thinking on these. thank you

white perch
black crappy? are they considered invasive?
hybred notherns???are they considered invasive?
red finned northerns???are they considered invasive?
sea lamprey
native lamprey?? are they really native??
spiney water flea?? anyone seeing any of these yet ??
giant river chubs?? are they considered native or invasive??

any others and whats your thoughts on these??

red finned northerns ?

Sea Lampreys are considered invasive the other 4in VT are native

Black and White Crappie are invasive.

White Perch are invasive.

I haven't heard of any spiny waterfleas in Champlain yet.

I think the "giant river chubs" you are talking about are Fallfish. They are native.

You forgot the most popular invasive... the bass....

People argue both ways if smallmouth are native to VT or not.

Largemouth though are  invasive....

Alewives.....

[BassInVt]

so the list grows longer, thank you guys

white perch
black crappy? are they considered invasive?
hybred notherns???are they considered invasive?
red finned northerns???are they considered invasive?
sea lamprey
native lamprey?? are they really native??
spiney water flea?? anyone seeing any of these yet ??
zebra mussels
tench
buffaloe
allwives
fallfish

i cant say Ive ever heard of largemouth or smallmouth bass being invasive or not, will have to research that one first

any others

[tench]

Somebody say my name? 

[Vtgooseman]

The water fleas are knocking on the doors of Lake Champlain.  Its only a matter of time, unfortunately.

http://www.wptz.com/tv/conservation/Spiny-water-flea-threatens-fish-in-Lake-Champlain/-/8871650/15957608/-/6eyx7kz/-/index.html

[flagfishon]

Somebody say my name? 

Tench

I know someone who caught one last summer.  I know my fish pretty well, but I had to search to find this one.  It was about 3-4 lbs.  As I understand they were mistakenly released (possibly by flooding) in Canada and worked their way down into the lake.  This one was caught in Malletts Bay.

[Smelty88]

sounds to me like we just need to close down the canal! pretty sure thats a much easier solution than having a large  body of water like Champlain completely destroyed.

[BassInVt]

Hey Flagfish, thats what i read also on the tench, some good friends of mine actually caught several in kelly bay this summer, brought one down to me to ID it, and I didnt know what it was till i got a hold of some people on the UVM research boat on the waterfront. They ID'd the fish for me and told me about that private pond that got flooded out. Unfortunately they bread quite rapidly, much like the asian carp.  so we will definately be seeing these pop up on here Im sure. 

According to UVM, so far they have only found spiny water flea in the canal, NOT in lake champlain YET.

[mudchuck]

I caught a Tench last spring while Crappie fishing the ditch near the sandbar, had a lamprey on it too.

[nateicefisherman1984]

sounds to me like we just need to close down the canal! pretty sure thats a much easier solution than having a large  body of water like Champlain completely destroyed.

Close the canal !!! Keep the spiny water flea out. I personally am much more worried about ASIAN CARP. Only a matter of time.

[tracker one]

Asian carp are already near Lake Erie in the Sandusky river, then Lake Ontario to the champlain canal then to Lake Champlain,unless New York closes the canal...which I doubt will ever happen

[Pasquatch]

One thing - invasive does not necessarily mean the same thing as "non-native".

I wouldn't consider crappie or pickerel or the lampreys invasive.

Tench have the potential to...we'll have to see how they play out.

[flagfishon]

I would like to add another.  It's called a Rudd.  It looks like a giant goldfish.  It is a type of European Carp.  I read somewhere where NY biologists are worried about them going into rivers and competing with trout populations, because they are also insect eaters and may be able to out compete the trout for food.  My mother caught one about a foot long and maybe 2-3 pounds in Mallets Bay last year.

[johnrielly]

I caught 3 tench last year. The biggest was 19"

[johnrielly]

Here's a pic. http://twitter.com/john_rielly/status/423211635293949952/photo/1

[flagfishon]

Did you eat the Tench?

[johnrielly]

No I threw it back.

[tench]

I wouldn't eat me either. I probably taste like cheap beer and old bait 

[nateicefisherman1984]

One thing - invasive does not necessarily mean the same thing as "non-native".

I wouldn't consider crappie or pickerel or the lampreys invasive
 

in·va·sive
  [in-vey-siv]  Show IPA 

adjective 
1.
characterized by or involving invasion; offensive: invasive war. 

2.
invading, or tending to invade; intrusive.

All non native species are invasive.... Including... gasp... brown and rainbow trout

[perchhauler]

i have heard about the origins of champlain tench before, but why would anyone want to raise them in the first place?  they are a tough fish, i left one on a snow bank at my house and it lived for 3 days.

[woodab17]

Red-finned northerns are not a fish.  Their fins just turn a bright shade of red during spawning season. 

Not all non-native fish are invasive. 

[Pasquatch]

My point was that people who study invasive species for a living make a distinction between non-native and invasive species. The difference is that non-native species do not significantly disrupt normal ecosystem function in the places where they are introduced.

If, say, yellow bullhead find their way into a lake out of their normal and never form a particularly large population and don't displace other fish that are already there, they wouldn't be considered invasive by biologists. The difference between invasive and non-native may seem strange, but I think it is useful.

Could he mean redfin pickerel (Esox americanus subsp. americanus) by "red-finned northerns?" or is he just referring to northern pike with red coloration in the fins? Either way, both are native in Lake Champlain.