Quote:
Perhaps the greatest irony in this story is that the folks screaming the loudest about protecting the Great Lakes' ecological health are sportfishermen who fish almost exclusively for non-native Pacific salmon.
Rainbow trout, a non-native species in the Great Lakes, have been so extensively introduced into streams and lakes, that they have become self-sustaining and nothing can be done now to eliminate them.
It's known that brook trout and rainbow trout can coexist in streams but they are in competition since they occupy much the same ecological niche. When other stresses, low oxygen, warm water temps, stream cover, habitat destruction, pollutants, etc, affect stream health, it's often the naturally-occurring brook trout that decline with competition from rainbows adding to the effect of environmental problems.
It's no mystery why governments still persist in introducing non-natives to natural areas... the political pressures from angler's groups (eg. Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters) are too strong, and the demands of aquaculture, both for sport and for fish farming result in other introductions (eg. Atlantic Salmon being farmed on the west coast).
Asian carp should be stopped if possible by blocking the Chicago canal ... the New York State Barge Canal, the Erie Canal and the Welland Canal, all allowed invasive non-natives an entry way in after the canals were built... common carp, alewife, smelt, sea lampreys, and on and on, with historically damaging effects.