Ontario Shore Fishing Forum

I just found out about this one. It's only a matter of time before they enter the deeper inner lakes.

http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet...eciesid=95

It's been here for a while actually.

"The quagga mussel was first sighted in the Great Lakes in September 1989, when one was found near Port Colborne, Lake Erie, though the recognition of the quagga type as a distinct species was not until 1991 (Mills et al. 1996). In August 1991, a mussel with a different genotype was found in a random zebra mussel sample from the Erie Canal near Palmyra, New York, and after confirmation that this mussel was not a variety of Dreissena polymorpha, the new species was named "quagga mussel" after the "quagga", an extinct African relative of the zebra (May and Marsden 1992). The quagga mussel has since been found in Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake St. Clair, Saginaw Bay, and throughout the St. Lawrence River north to Quebec City. A 2002 survey of Lake Superior did not detect quagga mussel specimens (Grigorovich et al. 2003), but by 2005 the first quagga mussel was confirmed from Lake Superior in Duluth Superior Harbor (Grigorovich et al. 2008b)."

We have no one to blame by ourselves for not forcing the government to tighten and enforce ballast water release regulations...

And the exchange is mutual actually...Look at the number of North American species that made it to Europe, intentionally and unintentionally...that is causing a problem.

Look up some of the entries here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_inv..._in_Europe

Note:

Amorpha fruticosa (Desert false indigo)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Amrosia artemisifolia)
Elodea canadensis (Canadian pondweed)
Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey locust)
Hydrocotyle ranunculoides (Floating pennywort)
Robinia pseudoacacia (Black locust)

Balanus improvisus (bay barnacle)

Orconectes limosus (also carried over crayfish plague with it)
Pacifastacus leniusculus (Signal crayfish)
Procambarus clarkii (Louisiana crawfish)

Branta canadensis (Canada goose)
Oxyura jamaicensis (Ruddy duck)

Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Colorado beetle)

Mustela vison (American mink)
Ondatra zibethicus (Muskrat)
Sciurus carolinensis (Grey squirrel)

Trachemys scripta elegans (Red-eared slider)

Ensis directus (American jack-knife clam)
Crepidula fornicata (Common slipper shell)

This is not even an exhaustive list...

There are no mention of the number of unknown bacteria, fungi, yeast, parasitic and other plankton species that are being spread but not under the microscope (pun intended...you can groan ).

I'm not familiar with the issue, but there are grumbling that invasive bacteria and yeast species affects both Canadian cheese...as well as cheeses worldwide.

And then look at this...

http://www.necis.net/intro-to-invasive-s...-exported/

Diabrotica virgifera (Western corn rootworm)
Rana catesbeiana (North American bullfrog)
Mnemiopsis leidyi (Leidy’s comb jelly)
Micropterus salmoides (Largemouth bass)
Bonamia osteae (European oyster parasite)
Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Pinewood nematode)
Euglandina rosea (Rosy wolfsnail)
Bidens frondosa (Devil’s beggartick)
Procambarus clarkii (Red swamp crayfish)

* The bullfrog, Eastern gray squirrel, Leidy’s comb jelly, and largemouth bass have all been nominated among 100 of the “World’s Worst” invaders by IUCN’s Invasive Species Specialist Group.

Who are we to point fingers? For every Asian Carp we fear about here in North America, there is equally a Largemouth Bass anglers fear about in Europe, Japan and Africa!

Also note...

"It is a voracious, carnivorous, solitary ambush predator that feeds both day and night. Its diet includes other fish, amphibians, insects, and any small living animal or bird that falls into the water. Largely because of the male’s care in building and guarding nests, many eggs survive, and a few adult can quickly populate new waters."

Sounds like the snakehead?

No...that's the description for Largemouth Bass under the above link!

And let's not forget...

Brown Trout - native to Europe...now spread intentionally worldwide by human...but invasive in many native habitat and displacing native species (Brook trout for example in Ontario streams...Galaxias in Australia and New Zealand...read about it here a little... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxias)

Rainbow Trout - native to Western North America...now spread intentionally worldwide by human...but invasive in many native habitat and displacing native species by competition for habitat or hybridization (Gala trout for example)


Those without sins can cast the first stone...

(03-08-2013 12:27 PM)MuskieBait Wrote: [ -> ]It's been here for a while actually.

"The quagga mussel was first sighted in the Great Lakes in September 1989, when one was found near Port Colborne, Lake Erie, though the recognition of the quagga type as a distinct species was not until 1991 (Mills et al. 1996). In August 1991, a mussel with a different genotype was found in a random zebra mussel sample from the Erie Canal near Palmyra, New York, and after confirmation that this mussel was not a variety of Dreissena polymorpha, the new species was named "quagga mussel" after the "quagga", an extinct African relative of the zebra (May and Marsden 1992). The quagga mussel has since been found in Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake St. Clair, Saginaw Bay, and throughout the St. Lawrence River north to Quebec City. A 2002 survey of Lake Superior did not detect quagga mussel specimens (Grigorovich et al. 2003), but by 2005 the first quagga mussel was confirmed from Lake Superior in Duluth Superior Harbor (Grigorovich et al. 2008b)."

We have no one to blame by ourselves for not forcing the government to tighten and enforce ballast water release regulations...

And the exchange is mutual actually...Look at the number of North American species that made it to Europe, intentionally and unintentionally...that is causing a problem.

Look up some of the entries here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_inv..._in_Europe

Note:

Amorpha fruticosa (Desert false indigo)
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Amrosia artemisifolia)
Elodea canadensis (Canadian pondweed)
Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey locust)
Hydrocotyle ranunculoides (Floating pennywort)
Robinia pseudoacacia (Black locust)

Balanus improvisus (bay barnacle)

Orconectes limosus (also carried over crayfish plague with it)
Pacifastacus leniusculus (Signal crayfish)
Procambarus clarkii (Louisiana crawfish)

Branta canadensis (Canada goose)
Oxyura jamaicensis (Ruddy duck)

Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Colorado beetle)

Mustela vison (American mink)
Ondatra zibethicus (Muskrat)
Sciurus carolinensis (Grey squirrel)

Trachemys scripta elegans (Red-eared slider)

Ensis directus (American jack-knife clam)
Crepidula fornicata (Common slipper shell)

And then look at this...

http://www.necis.net/intro-to-invasive-s...-exported/

Diabrotica virgifera (Western corn rootworm)
Rana catesbeiana (North American bullfrog)
Mnemiopsis leidyi (Leidy’s comb jelly)
Micropterus salmoides (Largemouth bass)
Bonamia osteae (European oyster parasite)
Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Pinewood nematode)
Euglandina rosea (Rosy wolfsnail)
Bidens frondosa (Devil’s beggartick)
Procambarus clarkii (Red swamp crayfish)

* The bullfrog, Eastern gray squirrel, Leidy’s comb jelly, and largemouth bass have all been nominated among 100 of the “World’s Worst” invaders by IUCN’s Invasive Species Specialist Group.

Who are we to point fingers? For every Asian Carp we fear about here in North America, there is equally a Largemouth Bass anglers fear about in Europe, Japan and Africa!

Also note...

"It is a voracious, carnivorous, solitary ambush predator that feeds both day and night. Its diet includes other fish, amphibians, insects, and any small living animal or bird that falls into the water. Largely because of the male’s care in building and guarding nests, many eggs survive, and a few adult can quickly populate new waters."

Sounds like the snakehead?

No...that's the description for Largemouth Bass under the above link!

Couldn't have said it better.

BTW...

This is not to say we'll just accept it.

This is to say let's not lay blame to the continent of Europe or Asia or Africa or Australia or South America.

The continent and the people there is not the blame.

The root of these issues are 1) international trade and 2) "well meaning" introductions

We definitely need to tighten pest control from international trade. A lot of insects arrive through wooden crates. We need to push for treated wood and enforce that to reduce the chance that insects arrive from our soil.

We need to tighten the control on ballast water release. If a ship is coming from the Mediterranean Sea, there should be a first release and refill just off the continental shelf of Europe, and then a second release and refill in the middle of the Atlantic, and a third release and refill just off the continental shelf of North America. Further release and refill should be done as a ship progress inland.

We cannot stop international trade. That's what the world runs on right now. If it was not for international trade, and products from Asia, you will not be getting your beginner fishing rod and reel for $20-30. You will not get your jigs and plastic lures for cheap. So bad mouth Asia and their pest all you like, bad mouth globalization all you like, but the bottom line speaks...and as far as I know, most anglers rather save a few bucks rather than shell extra for a local made premium product (unless the quality justify the cost).

As for "well meaning" releases, such as intentional release to create new fishery (everyone wants bass and trout everywhere...how boring and starving of biodiversity!), introduction to control pest (peacock bass, grass carp, mosquitofish...etc), or to add new aquaculture potential (Atlantic Salmon, Pacific Salmon, Asian Carp, many cichlid species in Florida...etc)...these are all things that we CAN control...and we should push government to restrict these activities much more.

Again, there is no one to blame but ourselves for turning a blind eye, and then complaining in the end...

The best means to combat these issue is be proactive, vigilant and forward thinking...

---

And I really don't understand...

Australia and New Zealand have such beautiful native galaxias species that resembles trout so much...and were pursued by anglers with fly gear in similar fashion to trout...why do they want to stock the $hitty brown trout and rainbow trout and outcompete the natives...sigh...

Spotted Galaxias (Galaxias truttaceus)



Giant Kokopu (Galaxias argenteus)



** The are quite high on my bucket list...one day...hopefully before they go extinct...

Again...our stupid backwards fetish for trout and bass...anglers need to broaden their scope and widen their appreciation for all fish big and small...and unless that is accomplished, single-minded anglers will continue to introduce foreign species with "well intentions" and completely destroy the native ecosystem.

(03-08-2013 12:27 PM)MuskieBait Wrote: [ -> ]Those without sins can cast the first stone...

I'm happy just casting my lures and baits............. Stones catch little....smile

Cheers,

OldTimer

(03-08-2013 12:27 PM)MuskieBait Wrote: [ -> ]We have no one to blame by ourselves for not forcing the government to tighten and enforce ballast water release regulations...

Thats a fundumentally un-Canadian, socialist, job-ending, ECONOMY-kILLING idea!!!! Calling for industry regulation....shame on you, Ken.

my personal favourite invasive was the raccoons to japan from canada...baby raccoons brought as pets for kids because of a popular animated tv show for kids...then the raccoons grow up and are not as cute and manageable...so the parents release them into the wild forest areas...like in the kids show...10 years later the raccoons are making historical 1000 year old temples their homes....oh oh big problem....raccoons are well established in japan. smiles....

(03-09-2013 12:26 AM)tangledline Wrote: [ -> ]my personal favourite invasive was the raccoons to japan from canada...baby raccoons brought as pets for kids because of a popular animated tv show for kids...then the raccoons grow up and are not as cute and manageable...so the parents release them into the wild forest areas...like in the kids show...10 years later the raccoons are making historical 1000 year old temples their homes....oh oh big problem....raccoons are well established in japan. smiles....

Yeah, that's always a great one!

As always - hindsight is 20-20. The milk is spilt. Learn and go forward.