This post inspired me to look at which Gamefish are Native and which are not. As a source I used UC Davis.
http://calfish.ucdavis.edu/species/
They listed 187 species (some are extinct in CA due to habitat loss or due to dams)
Some of our native fish:
Trout:
Various sub-species of Rainbow Trout
Various sub-species of Cutthroat Trout
Various sub-species of Golden Trout
Various sub-species of Steelhead Trout
Bull Trout
Salmon:
Various sub-species of Chinook Salmon
Various sub-species of Coho Salmon
Pink Salmon
Chum Salmon
Sturgeon:
White Sturgeon
Green Sturgeon
Others:
Some species of Perch
Some species of Whitefish
Some non-native fish (eligible for targeting I assume)
Trout:
Lake Trout
Brown Trout
Brook Trout
Some sub-species of Cutthroat trout
Salmon:
Sockeye (Kokanee) Salmon
Others:
All species of Shad
All Striped Bass
All Largemouth Bass
All Smallmouth Bass
All species of Catfish
All species of Bullheads
Yellow Perch
All species of Crappie
All species of Sunfish, Pumpkinseeds, etc.
All species of Carp
So some of my questions would be:
So how do they decide which non-native species to target or to eradicate?
What is the expected environmental impact of species removal now that these fish species have been in our environment for over a hundred years in many cases?
Whom determines what species stay at current levels and which species are targeted?
I have noticed that the new proposed fishing season favors Rainbow trout spawning (a native species) and extends the season through the Brown trout spawn (a non-native species) is this also a targeted ruling against non-native species?
As part of an overall plan what are they doing to increase or restore habitat for the native species including dam removal, fish ladders etc.?
Not sure I remember this correctly but back in the late 1990's /Early 2000's I remember that water exports from the Delta were restricted by a judge after water exports had increased steadily and substantially and it was determined that this caused a crash of the fish population in general. That restriction was in place two - three years and during that time water exports were restricted to mid 1990's levels. During the time those restrictions were in place both native and non-native species biomass increased substantially only to fall again when a new judge lifted the restrictions. What efforts are being made to institute new restrictions on water exports in order to allow native and non-native species to thrive again?
Regards,
Tim C.
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