Don’t throw dead fish, fish parts, or unused bait into the water. Instead, put them in a trash can.
Make sure plants, mud and aquatic life, such as snails and tadpoles, aren’t getting a free ride. Remove them from your boat, fishing poles, and other equipment.
That’s a sample of advice from the Focus on Fish Health project to boaters and fishers to help stop the spread of invasive species and diseases.
(Zebra Mussels; By OblioZen)
Invasive species can wreak havoc on aquatic habitats. The most infamous in the U.S. are the zebra mussel and the Asian Carp. Zebra mussels use super sticky threads to latch on to hard surfaces, coating boats, pipes, and other animals. In large numbers, they compete for food with natives. Asian carp, a fish of massive proportions, is taking over parts of the Great Lakes, hurting the local species as well as humans (the carp can jump out of the water up to 10 feet, powerfully knocking into boaters).
Focus on Fish Health, a project of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, is especially wary about a new invasive disease in the Great Lakes. Viral hemorrhagic septicemia targets freshwater and marine fish and causes death. The virus jumps to new fish populations when contaminated water or infected fish make their way between bodies of water. It’s usually humans that make it possible for the disease to spread on a large scale, so that’s why the project thinks public awareness will go a long way.
Show how you are helping to prevent the spread of invasive species and enter the Focus on Fish Health’s photo contest. One of May’s winners was Abigail Miller who caught 16 bluegills that day with her family. Learning to protect and preserve the environment starts at a young age.
Read more:
Zebra Zapper: Scientists use electro-magnetic waves to fight the mussel.
Carp For Dinner: Eating the invasive
Alien Landing: Exotic invasive plants in the garden
(Focus on Fish Health's photo winner; By USDA/APHIS)