2 Asian carp found in ponds near Toronto waterfront

[MuskieBait]

Yep. Time will tell...just like the fearful Round Goby

I was just watching a documentary on the Lake Erie Watersnake, a species that was once endangered due to development of the shorelines and destruction of their habitats necessary for their prey species. One of their main diet items were frogs. But ever since the Round Goby invasion, the snake had benefited greatly by feeding predominantly (90%) on the slower moving gobies. Their population had recovered so well, THANKS TO THE GOBIES, that the species was delisted off the endangered species list.

There are more and more beneficial interactions that are being reported on the Round Goby. I do not deny that they have a negative impact, but it is also foolish to ignore the positive impact. As I say always, nature will find a way to balance herself. She can do this without human interaction. We just need to be patient, and we need not to force our wished upon her. Human meddling by bucket biologists is often what messes things further.

Here's a link you can read about "professional biologists" and the past actions on native species by introducing non-native species in the name of providing additional fishing opportunities...and how modern biologists are now realizing better management of existing resource, and the drastic means necessary to recover lost resources.

http://blog.nature.org/science/2015/08/1...t-biology/

Of course, we cannot simply use rotenone to remove Grass Carp from Lake Ontario. If it was that easy, it would have been done. Don't fool yourself that a few electrofishing boats will do anything to prevent Grass Carp establishment either. Eradication of a species out of the Great Lakes is extremely difficult due to the immense size of the watershed, which is why prevent is key to keeping out invasive species...but once an invasive species has arrived, it is almost always too late. By the time an invasive species had been noticed and sampled, it is very likely the species had already established locally.

As far as I know, the first sighting of Round Goby in Lake Simcoe watershed was in Pefferlaw River. The MNR then treated the area with rotenone hoping to prevent establishment of Round Goby in Lake Simcoe. At the time, there was much resistance to this effort as locals feared rotenone would kill all the native fish in the river. The treatment was still allowed in the end. But this effort did not at all prevent Round Goby from establishing in Lake Simcoe. If we can't even address a smaller body of water, and a founder population effect, like this example, what can we truly do in Lake Ontario?

We can complain and whine and discuss...but in the end, the best action is to find a way to fish for these invasive species, because they really are here to stay once they get in and establish.