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February 27, 2009                   **Note - All Links will open in new windows

        Invasives Replace Invasives “…quaggas have now out competed zebra mussels so successfully, you’d be lucky to find a zebra mussel in Lake Michigan. … If you had told me 10 years ago that you wouldn’t be able to find a zebra mussel in Lake Michigan, I’d have said you’re crazy.” Gary Fahnenstiel, senior ecologist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab
      This quote, from a recent Sea Grant conference drives home just how dramatically quagga mussels have impacted the invasive zebra mussels. Just a few years ago we thought that zebra mussels were the worst possible thing that could happen to our waters. Surprise. It turns out that they were really quite tame compared to quaggas. While it seems hard to believe, the tiny quagga mussels have now reached such high densities in the Great Lakes that they are on the verge of completely changing the ecology of the lakes.
     Newly published research shows that the filtering effect of the estimated 330 trillion quagga mussels in Lake Michigan is so significant that the plankton critical to the entire food cycle have nearly vanished. Diporeia, a zooplankton vital to young fish, were once measured at 15,000 per square meter. Today, in many areas, there are not enough Diporeia to count. This is just one indicator of the impact of
     “The lesson here is that if we don’t focus on prevention, there will always be an invader around the corner that will be 10 or 100 times more dangerous than the one we saw before”
Joel Brammeier, Alliance for the Great Lakes
these invasives and every other measure shows similar distressing changes in Lake Michigan. Chlorophyll production in 2007 & 2008 was among the lowest on record. Other research shows that since 1983 the Lake has seen an 80% decline in primary production. These studies and others point to an uncertain future for the ecology of Lake Michigan.
     It's ironic that the ecological changes caused by quagga mussels is leading to the elimination of the zebra mussels. Just a couple of years ago we thought that zebra mussels were the ultimate invader and it seemed crazy to imagine that they would ever be eliminated from the Lake. This is a classic example of "be careful of what you wish for because it might come true." 

     Carpbusters  One of the great things about the Clean Angling Pledge is that it's a direct and active way for all anglers to get personally involved in the effort to reduce the spread of invasives. Getting everyone to take personal responsibility is a vital part of reducing spread. While the Clean Angling Pledge is focused on preventing spread, others are working to encourage personal action to reduce the numbers of invasives in our waters.
     Carpbusters is providing a whole new way of enlisting individual anglers in the fight. Their basic goal is to get anglers to catch and kill as many invasive fish as they possibly can. Reducing the numbers of any invasive fish species can only be a benefit to the ecosystem and Carpbusters is doing all they can to encourage a large scale effort to remove as many invasive fish as possible from our waters.
      From their website: Carpbusters believes that sportsmen can and should be a part of the solution to the ongoing problems with exotic invasive fishes and the significant environmental damage they cause. Carpbusters believes exotic , invasive fishes should not be returned to the water when caught by sportsmen. Carpbusters supports teams, individuals and groups who support exotic removal in a legal, positive, fun way via tournaments, public education, trade shows and a website at www.carpbusters.com
      We recognize that killing fish can be difficult for many anglers and are not saying that every angler needs to be a part of this movement. However, if this type of approach appeals to you be sure to check out their site and sign up for their newsletter the Buster.

   186 and Counting  The Asian tapeworm was recently identified by a Canadian researcher as the 186th known invasive species in the Great Lakes. Unfortunately for anglers, this looks like it will be a bad one. Tapeworms are rarely fatal to the host fish but they can sure spoil a catch. "The mere sight of tapeworms can tarnish a fishing trip" reported Jeff  Alexander of the Muskegon News who continued "The creatures are known to slither out of the mouths and gills of dead fish."
Asian tapewormAsian tapeworm
        There are a number of different freshwater tapeworms that are native to these waters, but in the past two years there has been a significant increase in the number of anglers reporting infected fish. Information from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources says numerous anglers reported finding tapeworms in walleye caught in Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay, also, fish from some inland Michigan lakes also were infected with tapeworms. Subsequently, David Marcogliese, a research scientist at Environment Canada identified them as Asian tapeworms based on walleye taken from Lake Huron.
        Asian tapeworms steal a lot of energy from fish and will dramatically slow the growth of young fish, They can grow up to a foot in length in larger fish. They are not typically a threat to human health and infected fish can be eaten provided they are fully cooked. So far it seems that walleye are especially susceptible to the tapeworm but all fish species are vulnerable.
        It is suspected that these tapeworms were introduced through the use of infected bait fish but we will never know for sure. We can prevent spreading these new invaders the same way as most others - Clean Inspect and Dry and never transport living creatures between waters. Learn more about the Asian tapeworm discovery

     Boat Inspections  Anyone who has seen a previous issue of the Clean Angling News knows that we are big supporters of boat cleaning and inspection. However, as increasing areas require inspections, boaters face new restrictions and costs. Since there is little or no public money available for boat inspections, authorities are increasingly turning to boaters to pay the costs for manning inspection and cleaning facilities. As the summer boating season approaches, discussions are being held across the country to determine what the inspection rules will be and how much boaters and anglers will be charged. It is important that you pay attention and make your voice heard as your community deals with this issue.
      Here is a sampling of what is being considered.
        An Idaho legislator has proposed a $20 Idaho Boat Cleaning Fee that would be assessed on any boat used in the state.
         On Big Bear Lake in Southern California inspections will be mandatory and a daily or season fee will be charged for all boats or float tubes. Big Bear Lake
         The Lake Minnetonka Association has proposed that new fees be implemented on the popular Minnesota lake. The Association recommends a $600,000 annual budget for ANS prevention on the 14,000 acre lake and has offered to pay 25% of this amount. They suggest that fees could cover all or part of the rest. However, the Lake Minnetonka Conservation District has publicly stated their opposition to user fees. Read the full story about Lake Minnetonka Boating Fees
         In the San Francisco area a host of lakes have implemented mandatory inspections with a daily fee of $6.00 for trailered boats and $3.00 for all others.  East Bay Boat Inspections
         In Colorado, new restrictions are coming to the waters of Larimer County. Boat inspections will become mandatory and launch hours will be limited for the first time ever. The County expects to fund the effort with grant funding from the state, however, a freeze instituted by the Governor has complicated the issue. Larimer County Boat Inspections
         Henry's Lake in Idaho began a boat inspection program in 2008 and plans to continue the effort in 2009. The program is purely preventative as was explained to a recent meeting of the Henrys Fork Council. Read the full story of plans for inspections on this famous trout fishing water Henry's Lake Boat Inspections
     These are just a few examples of the new rules and regulations that will be faced by boaters and anglers this summer.
Please Help
    This newsletter, the Clean Angling Pledge and all of our efforts to prevent the spread of ANS are financed by donations.  Please help us with a tax deductible donation of any amount.
     Restoring Natives & Spreading Invasives - Non native fish are a major factor in the reduction of native fish populations. Competition, hybridization and other impacts often result in significant reduction of native fish populations once a non native is established. Fisheries managers are working hard to preserve and restore our native fish stocks and they are looking at all possible options for increasing the populations of native fish. In many areas dams have been identified as significant factors in native fish restoration. In many areas dam removal has been identified as the most significant native fish habitat improvement that can be made.
      Unfortunately, as with so many other things, dam removal can have unintended consequences. Currently, in Maine, a project that would create a bypass channel for fish around a dam has come under fire for its potential to spread invasive species in the system. While most biologists and anglers have focused on the benefits of the passage, a retired fisheries biologist has raised serious concerns about the unintended consequences of allowing invasive fish passage to the waters that they are currently barriered from. Balancing the positive and negative impacts of dam removal and/or fish passage will be a difficult task for managers and we need to recognize that, like so many other things, there is no simple answer to the problem. read the full story of the Howland fish bypass

       Writers, Photographers, Designers - We need your help!         We want to improve this newsletter by adding new stories, pictures and information. If you are able to help with this we would love to hear from you. Send us stories (or even story ideas), photos, links, videos or any other materials you would be willing to let us publish.
     We also want to develop new Clean Angling products but to do so we need people with design talent to send us ideas for T shirts, and other products. Put on your creative cap on and send us your images, slogans or computer graphics.
         Send your stories, graphics, ideas or comments to Newsletter@stopans.org.

     Free Resources!
       Aquatic Invasions is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal focusing on biological invasions in inland and coastal waters of Europe, North America and other regions. The journal provides the opportunity of timely publication of first records of aquatic invaders and other relevant information needed for risk assessments and early warning systems. Aquatic Invasions
       South Dakota has recently completed work on a series of lesson plans to teach school children about ANS. There are 5 lesson plans for three different grade levels that provide some excellent teaching ideas for communicating with kids. South Dakota Aquatic Nuisance Species Lesson Plans
       Eddies: Reflections on Fisheries Conservation is a quarterly publication of the US Fish & Wildlife Service. You can get a print copy of Eddies in the mail, or you can read it online with an email alert with each new issue. There is information about a host of fisheries projects, including invasive species, in each issue. Eddies magazine

      A Fun Video  This month we are featuring a fun video that is not much on graphics but has great audio. Purple Loosestrife is an aggressive wetlands plant that displaces native vegetation very quickly. It will quickly populate wetland areas and can choke out open water areas vital to waterfowl. It has beautiful showy purple flowers and was widely sold as an ornamental plant before it was realized now noxious it is. This video features a song by Josh Masino and, while it is not great art, it is an fun and educational ditty. I got a big chuckle from this song and encourage you to check out the Purple Loosestrife Song

     Promote the Clean Angling Pledge   The Clean Angling Pledge  is a personal statement of action to help protect our waters and we need your help to make sure that every angler is aware of this important program. The simple actions of Inspect - Clean - Dry can be done easily at the end of every trip and make a huge difference in reducing the spread of invasive species. You can help promote the pledge in a variety of ways and we have been working on providing some direct support to those who want to promote the pledge. Please help us grow the number of people working to protect our waters Promote the Clean Angling Pledge
     
   
The Clean Angling News is regularly produced by the Center for Aquatic Nuisance Species. If you have questions,  suggestions or would like to learn more about ANS please contact us:
Center for Aquatic Nuisance Species
P.O. Box 1429
Livingston, MT  59047
406-220-2059
info@stopans.org