FISHING
CONSERVATION
p
FOR SOME NON-NATIVES, THERE ARE TWO SIDES TO THE ARGUMENT
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olitics and personal opinion aside, it’s clear invasive
species constitute one of the biggest issues in fishing
right now. From Asian carp to gobies and everything
in between, the vast majority of fisheries are impacted in
some way by invasive, or non-native, species.
What is an “impact,” though?
the most common definition of the word is “a strong
effect, influence or impression of a stimulus on a system.”
there are no value statements like “good” or “bad” in
that definition. An impact is simply change in response to
an input. the attachment of value (moral or otherwise) to
that change is an entirely human component, and one
entirely dependent on perspective.
Although a little overt, that study of semantics is impor-
tant because it exemplifies the current invasive species
issues we deal with as citizens, conservationists and bass
fishermen, where an issue viewed as a benefit by one
interest group might be seen as a detriment by another.
take a classic: Eurasian water milfoil.
Introduced in the 1940s, milfoil quickly spread
through waterways from coast to coast, choking out
native aquatic plants, reducing invertebrate biodiversity
and clogging up public beaches. If you’re a fisheries
INVASIVE SPECIES … IT’S COMPLICATED
By TJ Maglio
biologist, municipality manager, lakefront homeowner
or power plant operator, you might be (understand-
ably) against the spread of this noxious plant.
however, years of empirical evidence by anglers have
shown that largemouth bass thrive in milfoil lakes, and
it’s more than coincidence that some of the absolute best
bass factories in the country are overrun with the stuff.
In this case, it’s easy to see how something can clearly
have a negative impact to some and a positive impact to
others.
When looking at invasive species impacts, it’s impor-
tant to try to be unselfish, because we as anglers are just
one small part in a whole group of resource utilizers.
that’s the rub for wildlife officials. how do you address
invasive species issues when you have valued utilizers
clamoring from both ends of the spectrum?
this column’s purpose isn’t to decide or promote a
certain management strategy for any individual invasive,
but rather to highlight the different perspectives on sev-
eral common invasives and hopefully spark meaningful
discourse between resource managers, consumptive
resource utilizers (anglers and hunters) and non-con-
sumptive utilizers (boaters, wildlife watchers, etc.).
FlWFIshInG.com I summer 2019