Whether you’re an avid angler or a newbie looking for some motivation, here’s one dramatic reason to head to the lakes: evil fish are trying to take over. Okay, maybe not evil, but certainly dangerous. Non-native fish can deplete food for natural inhabitants, decreasing their numbers and contributing negatively to biodiversity. With the populations of different types of invasive fish species exploding, it’s up to fishers to help take them out. Next time you hit the water, keep an eye out for these species.
Asian Carp
There are four species included in the umbrella term of Asian carp: bighead, black, grass, and silver. In Canada, the most pressing variety is black carp. They originated in China and Southern Russia and were brought to the southern United States in the 1960s for legitimate purposes. The problems started with flooding and the carp’s subsequent escape.
- Asian carp can consume up to 40 percent of their own weight each day and grow to longer than a meter.
- They feed on plankton, the base of the entire aquatic food chain, and reproduce quickly.
- They’re nocturnal, so your best bet for success might be fishing for them at night.
Round Goby
These small fish can be a nuisance. They’ll take your bait and you’ll end up with 25 to 30 gobies before you manage a real catch. They grow to between six and 16 centimeters, and you can recognize them from their bulging frog eyes. They’re usually olive-brown and have black spots.
- Round gobies reduce populations of native fish by eating their eggs and young and by consuming the available food sources.
- They eat zebra mussels and then pass the toxins to fish-eating birds, leading to outbreaks of botulism that kill both fish and birds.
- They take over spawning sites close to shore so native species are edged out. They also procreate every 20 days.
Snakehead Fish
It’s not fair to take cheap shots about a fish’s appearance, but snakeheads are not attractive. And you might come across one when you least expect it: they can exist out of water for up to four days. They can grow to 33 inches long, and they have a mottled pattern that resembles a snake.
- If you want to catch one, be ready. You’ll need a spool-heavy line on a heavy rod with a stiff tip. You’ll need pliers for dehooking.
- Snakeheads thrive because not only do they eat fish like largemouth bass and white perch, but they’ll also eat mammals, birds, frogs, crustaceans, and reptiles.
- If that doesn’t convince you that this is the most unappealing of the different types of invasive fish species, maybe this will: they can lay 15,000 eggs up to five times a year. And the eggs hatch within two days.
