December “Fish
Busters’ Bulletin”
By
Bob Wattendorf, with Vance Crain, fisheries biologist
Exotic
fishes boost angling success in Florida
Florida
is the Fishing Capital of the World because of its native fishes, but it also
has a variety of exotic fishes anglers may pursue. An exotic fish is one that
is not native to the area in which it is found. Typically, this is because
people moved them from one location to another, either intentionally or
accidentally, resulting in their illegal release.
To
many ecologists, any organism that is introduced to a place it did not
historically and naturally occur is a nuisance. However, when you look around
Florida you will find many species that are associated with the Sunshine State
but were not here 500 years ago when the Spanish first landed. In fact,
Spaniards brought many familiar edibles from Europe, including oranges, horses
and pigs, which are still here.
The
first exotic fish species documented in Florida – the common carp –
was stocked around 1877 by the U.S. Fish Commission. Carp came from Germany and
were stocked as a food fish throughout the United States. Today in Florida,
common carp are most abundant in the Panhandle and support a small but avid
group of anglers and bow fishermen.
In
addition to common carp, another 22 species of fish are established, meaning
they have permanent populations, and 11 species have reproduced in
Florida’s fresh waters. Most successful intruders came from tropical or
subtropical climates. Typical sources have been the aquarium trade or
individual pet-fish owners, and aquaculture facilities that inadvertently
allowed some stock to escape.
Florida
fisheries biologists have studied nonnative fishes and their impacts since the
late 1960s and established a Nonnative Fish Research Laboratory in Boca Raton.
Although laboratory staff continue to study and be concerned with nonnative
fishes, they have not documented measureable negative impacts on native fishes
or aquatic habitats. During that time they have exterminated from confined
areas several populations of exotic fishes that were discovered early,
including redbelly piranha, pirambeba and threespot ciclid. Natural events,
particularly cold spells, have eliminated 14 species of previously reproducing
nonnative fishes from our waters.
Laboratory
staff also helped develop sterile triploid grass carp, which are used (under
permit) as an aquatic-plant-control tool, and successfully introduced peacock
bass as a biological control for unwanted exotic forage species. Peacocks now
support a sport fishery in southeast Florida, with an annual economic benefit
of nearly $11 million.
During
the winter cold snap of 2010, peacock bass, and many other exotic fishes, died
in large numbers. The exotic fishery on the L-67A Canal is an excellent example
of how these exotic fishes are being utilized by anglers, and effects of the
cold. The canal is west of U.S. 27 and south of Alligator Alley and is known
not only for great largemouth bass fishing, but also for a diverse array of
nonnative fish.
Mayan
cichlid, oscar and butterfly peacock bass are the three most popular nonnative
species in the canal, but the winter kill in 2010 nearly eliminated them. Catch
rates for Mayan cichlid and oscar averaged nine and four fish per hour,
respectively, from 2000 to 2009, and butterfly peacock bass were producing two
fish per hour of fishing. In the L-67A Canal, in spite of numerous nonnative
fishes, the average catch rate for largemouth bass was more than two bass per
hour. For comparison, a catch rate of one harvestable largemouth bass per four hours
(0.25 fish per hour) is considered typical in the southeastern United States.
Expenditures
by anglers fishing for exotic fishes on the L-67A Canal during the past 17
years were estimated at more than $3 million. During that period, anglers spent
22 percent of their time seeking exotics. When the exotic bite is on, people
travel long distances to fish the L-67A.
Although
the unusually cold winter in 2010 took a toll on exotics in the canal, once
their populations rebound, the amount of time spent fishing will increase along
with success rates. Meanwhile, urban canals around the more southerly
Miami-Homestead area do not get winter kills quite as extreme as L-67A,
so anglers fishing for exotics have more consistent success there.
Besides
the entertainment associated with fishing for different and often very colorful
fish comes the benefit that, except for peacock bass and triploid grass carp,
nonnative fishes do not have bag or size limits. Anglers are encouraged to take
as many as they can. It is suggested they be immediately placed on ice and not
released. Most are good eating, including Mayan cichlid and oscar, as well as
other exotics such as brown hoplos and bullseye snakehead.
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