Do Non-native Fish....

[Darian]

have a place in the Delta (or elsewhere)??? Following is a link to an article from 11/4/14 in the Earth Island Journal that seems to answer that question. It contains research/findings on impacts of non-native fish & other species on native fish and the Delta. Check it out:

http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/do_non-native_fish_have_a_place_in_the_sacramento_delta/

I started looking into this when I was reading info about the impact of the Mississippi Silverside on Delta Smelt. You fisheries scientists probably already are aware of it. It turns out that the Mississippi Silverside (MS) feeds aggressively on larval forms of other fishes and that many stomach samples from MS have DNA of the Delta Smelt in them. Also, MS tend to be numerous wherever they occur. Makes me wonder if the MS has a greater impact on the declining population of Delta Smelt than other predators(???). Probably doesn't matter much about Delta Smelt since their population is so low in number that they may become extinct within a few years.

The point of this article was that more research in needed to find out how all of the changes/challenges facing the Delta will play out rather than trying to either restore or change it further.

[SeanO]

Do Non-native Fish have a place in the Delta (or elsewhere)???

I think the answer would have to be YES!

For one thing anglers love non-native fish. I suspect most Californians that fish mostly target non-natives. Catfish, bullhead, carp, sunfish, crappie, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, striper, American shad, brown trout, kokanee, PACU(!), and so on. I bet more of those non-natives were caught (and targeted) than anglers catching and targeting Rainbows/steelies, cutts, chinook and sturgeon.

On a more practical point, there is no way to effectively eliminate the non-native fish from a large waterbody such as the Delta. They are here to stay.

Best,

[Darian]

I gotta agree with you. I'd venture to say that the vast majority of freshwater fish caught by hook/line in this state are non-native (including hatchery trout in that guess). The newly revised BDCP still includes a provision to target Striped Bass and other predators for reduction in numbers/size or elimination.

As the article points out, more research should be done before making any further changes to the Delta. Since the Delta is in transition, that sounds good to me.