# Sticky  Why releasing your fish into the wild is bad



## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

This is a good, honest question that has been asked by those that don't know. As opposed to bashing those that don't know or not catching future people from releasing fish, we have this thread!

This question should seriously be addressed on this board.

The angle to look at it from is the ecosystem level. An ecosystem and it's species can be affected in quite a few ways by introductions of fish...

1. new parasites brought into the system
2. they eat native fish (or their eggs, etc.)
3. they are toxic/spiny/bad to eat and are eaten by native animals
4. they outcompete natives for food
5. they outcompete natives for habitat
6. they hybridize with native fish (disturb natural gene pool)
7. the list can go on and on....

Hope this helps! And please spread the word that releasing fish is a very bad idea.


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## CrocKeeper (Dec 26, 2003)

> Question... why is a tank raised fish a threat to a community of wild fish... id think the tank fish would be happy and quickly adapting... not a menace... any insight as to why would be great





> Posted on Feb 7 2004, 08:21 PM
> That's a good, honest question. Actually one that should seriously be addressed on this board.
> 
> I think you're thinking about it from the wrong angle. The angle to look at it from is the ecosystem level. An ecosystem and it's species can be affected in quite a few ways by introductions of fish...
> ...


As Acestro said, an honest question.

His list is also very complete, and is expandable...
Bottom line is when something is captive for any length of time even repatriation, releasing back into it's own eco-systems, is a methodically well thought out action, and is never taken lightly. Most "released" species die. Unfortunately as Acestro said they sometimes bring with them parasites, potentials that the introduced animal dies, but the introduced parasite does not is all too real. Let's say it is not even an exotic species that is released, say a native, but from an all together different area of the Country/province/state what-have-you....then if it does survive, and even if it does not bring a potential parasite with it, it does bring genetics that were never meant to be there foreever altering that population.
Released animals are bad news, and are also a reason for many species being prohibited in areas. The "release it" attitude is exactly why Pirahna are illegal in so many US states, for fear people will do just that. It is an irresponsible, potentially FAR reaching action that proves to Federal/State/County/Municipal legislative bodies that hobbyists should be heavily regulated and many taxa prohibited because they do not regulate themselves. It also is the type of action that raises insurance rates and premiums for those that apply themselves to attaining permits for "prohibited" taxa. 
This is a subject that to say I feel strongly about is an understatement, and is truly not even adequately covered here, but I hope that it puts some more thought into it for those who may have truly never even thought about it before.

Oh yes, and thanks for the vote


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

> it does bring genetics that were never meant to be there foreever altering that population


Very important point. To release a Florida bluegill into Louisiana waters because you know that there are bluegill in Louisiana is wrong.

If you ever wanted to examine what was happening genetically (for one of many possible reasons) you would get un-natural findings. You may also have genes for traits that make the animal more of a detriment to the ecosystem or itself. yeah, the list goes on and on. And many hobbyists just don't know.

As dumb as that whole Maryland snakehead thing was (didn't even involve a hobbyist or a pet store! ), I think it woke up a lot of people who had no idea how this hobby could affect things or be affected!

Hey Innes, can you move this to scientific?


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## InIndiana (Nov 6, 2003)

Weren't the snakeheads just found in a small pond in Maryland and it had a slight chance of "walking" about 250-1000 feet to a near river? Did this fiasco affect anything ? Or did it just scare residents when they found it


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## Fruitbat (Jan 2, 2004)

As an example of just how seriously some Fish&Game departments take the threat of released exotic fish, I offer this list of fish that are prohibited in the State of Texas.

*No person may import, possess, sell, or place into water of this state exotic, harmful, or potentially harmful fish, shellfish, or aquatic plants except as authorized by rule or permit issued by the department. *

*Lampreys* - All species except Chestnut Lamprey, _Ichthyomyzon castaneus_ and Southern Brook Lamprey, _I. gagei _
*Freshwater Stingrays* - all species
*Arapaima* - _Arapaima gigas_
*Dourados* - All species of genus _Salminus_
*Raphiodontid Characoids* - All species of genera _Hydrolycus_ and _Rhaphiodon_ (synonymous with _Cynodon_) 
*South American Pike Characoids* - All species of genera _Acestrorhynchus, Ctenolucius (Boulengerella)_ and _Luciocharax (Hydrocinus)_
*African Pike Characoids - Families: Hepsetidae and Ichthyboridae* - all species
*African Tiger Fishes* - all species
*South American Tiger (Wolf) Fishes Family: Erythrinidae* - - all species
*Piranhas and Pirambebas* - all species
*Freshwater Eels* - All species except American Eel, _Anguilla rostrata_
*Swamp Eels, Rice Eels or One-Gilled Eels : Family Synbranchidae* - all species
*Electric eel* - _Electrophorus electricus _
*Carps* - All species and hybrids of species of genera _Ctenopharyngodon_ (Grass Carp), _Mylopharyngodon_ (Black Carp), _Aristichthys_ (Bighead Carp), _Hypophthalmichthys_ (Silver Carp), _Cirrhina_ (Mud Carp and relatives) and _Thynnichthys_ (Sandhkol and other Thynnichthyid Carp)
*Rudd and Roach* - all species of genera _Scardinius_ and _Rutilus_
*Old World Breams* - All species of genera _Abramis, Blicca, Megalobrama_ and _Parabramis_
*Old World Chubs, Ide, and Dace* - all species of the genus _Leuciscus_
*Asps and Yellowcheek* - All species of the genera _Aspius, Pseudaspius, Aspiolucius_ and _Elopichthys_
*Giant Barbs, Mahseers, and Catla* - all species of the genera _Tor_ and _Catla_ and the species _Barbus tor_ (synonymous with _Barbus hexagoniolepis_) 
*Walking Catfishes* - all species
*Electric Catfishes* - all species
*South American Parasitic Catfishes* - all species
*Whale Catfishes* - all species
*Airsac Catfishes* - All species of genus _Heteropneustes_
*Pike Killifish* - _Belonesox belizanus_
*Marine Stonefishes* - all species
*Tilapia* - All species of genus _Tilapia_ (including _Sarotherodon_ and _Oreochromis_)
*Snakeheads* - all species
*Asian Pikeheads : Family Luciocephalidae* - all species
*Old World Pike-Perches* - All species of the genus _Stizostedion_ except Walleye, _Stizostedion vitreum_ and Sauger, _S. canadense_
*Ruff* - All species of genus _Gymnocephalus_
*Nile Perch* - All species of genera _Lates_ and _Luciolates_
*Seatrouts and Corvinas* - All species of genus _Cynoscion_ except Spotted Seatrout, _Cynoscion nebulosus_; Silver Seatrout, _C. nothus_ and Sand Seatrout, _C. arenarius_

As you can see....this list includes practically EVERY fish that the folks on Piranha_Fury are so fond of!! All because of fears (rational or otherwise) that some dolt will get ahold of them and release them into Texas waters where they could probably survive!!


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

So glad I don't live in Texas (no Acestrorhynchus allowed!!!). If the idiots continue to release things you will find it harder and harder to get the fish you want.



> Weren't the snakeheads just found in a small pond in Maryland and it had a slight chance of "walking" about 250-1000 feet to a near river? Did this fiasco affect anything ? Or did it just scare residents when they found it


It affected the legality of importing snakeheads to the U.S. or across borders or selling them at all (all three are now illegal)! It didn't affect anything ecologically from what I know.


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

great thread


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

lots of cool info hear thanks guys


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## the grinch (Feb 23, 2004)

yeah great thread. but wouldnt it be cool to have one lake that was gated off and have it full of all kinds of exotic fish. Regulated of course and see what would happen. for scientific research. See who survived why who cross breed ect.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

They have that, it's called South Florida









So far it looks good for Mayan cichlids! But the scary thing is, they are spreading north!


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## dead golfish (Apr 24, 2003)

i live in canada and its your pond not man made and there are no fish living in the pond would that be illegal


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

you tell em dude


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Um, my last post was over a YEAR ago. I'm not following...


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

acestro said:


> Um, my last post was over a YEAR ago. I'm not following...
> [snapback]1003551[/snapback]​


ace dont downplay the gravity of his unintelligible drivel.


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

some guy on p-fury said in one of the posts, that he had releast his pacu into a lake


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

To address all replies, it's never a good idea. It doesn't matter if it's your private pond. In some cases even that's illegal (depending on where you are and what species).

The legality isn't the first issue, however. Disrupting habitats is. Flooding can join ponds to natural waterways. Unless you are sure this will be avoided, it is a bad idea. Also, if your pacu gets found by Fish and Wildlife and it's not the first pacu they find, you may find yourself unable to buy pacu in the near future (bad example, pacu SHOULD be illegal, they are not appropriate aquarium fish).


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## sprtslvr785 (Mar 3, 2005)

This thread has some good info. My dad is into tournament fishing (for bass) and a buddy of his has caught 3 or 4 piranha in the river near our house in the last couple of years, thats not good at all. And they have also found some type of fish that has the capability of knocking out the whole river system. I forget the name of it but ill ask my dad the next time I see him for the name of it.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Thanks, I agree this is a useful thread. Even recently I questioned how bad invasives could be. It seemed that usually they didn't do well in really pristine areas. Now I know that this isn't always the case, that there is the 'invasional meltdown' aspect, and that there are more ways than you can imagine that an invasive could affect and ecosystem.


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

ever since you posted that link to the *NFC* i have been

very interested in joining the organization because lately i have really felt like doing something

important for ol mother nature and i know for a fact theres tons of carp around the fresh lakes here

plus a good day of fishing invasives is better then a bad day of work :laugh:


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

I'm impressed! Knock em out. Carp may be one of the worst. They dont seem to mind entering pristine areas (unlike a lot of other invasive species).


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

acestro said:


> I'm impressed! Knock em out. Carp may be one of the worst. They dont seem to mind entering pristine areas (unlike a lot of other invasive species).
> [snapback]1007614[/snapback]​


its deffiently set off a spark that i think about all the time now


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

If you ever saw that vid of the silver carp jumping, you'd be even more worked up. It's like people haven't noticed the ecosystem damage these things do, so now these carp are doing damage to boaters now by jumping up and hitting them at high speeds (and these fish are 40 pounds! ). Carp are impossible to ignore!


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

and carp taste terrible too, right? so nooone wants to catch them?


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

acestro said:


> If you ever saw that vid of the silver carp jumping, you'd be even more worked up. It's like people haven't noticed the ecosystem damage these things do, so now these carp are doing damage to boaters now by jumping up and hitting them at high speeds (and these fish are 40 pounds! ). Carp are impossible to ignore!
> [snapback]1008107[/snapback]​


yep i seen that video, those fish are nuts



> and carp taste terrible too, right? so nooone wants to catch them?


would it be a good ideal to catch the carp, give em a swift death and gut em up a bit and toss em back

to feed the natives? i dont see what harm it could do.


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## face2006 (Feb 17, 2006)

MR.FREEZ said:


> acestro said:
> 
> 
> > If you ever saw that vid of the silver carp jumping, you'd be even more worked up. It's like people haven't noticed the ecosystem damage these things do, so now these carp are doing damage to boaters now by jumping up and hitting them at high speeds (and these fish are 40 pounds! ). Carp are impossible to ignore!
> ...


this is a awesome topic...where can u see that vid on the carp jumping....i heard something about getting bears or putting up fences so that they don't get into lake michigan??....or something like that


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

i think i remeber that video in the lounge some

were, try a search for "night fishing"


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

I'll see if I can find it...

Try this:

http://www.glfc.org/fishmgmt/Asiancarp.rm

Note that there is 'dead air' for the first 6 seconds.


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## Kudos (Dec 22, 2005)

its kinda like rabbits in Austrelia.

and speaking of pacu there is one at one of our lfs that is around 2 1/2 foot and its in a tank barly big enough for it to have any swimming room... it pisses me off every time i go in there


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

anyone watch the special on NGC i think it was

were they talked about the releas or the nile perch

devasted the local economy and some other damage.

sorry its such a vage discription , i just had a chance

to glance at the info on the show before i had to leave.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

What's sad about the Nile perch is that local fishermen cant catch these beasts with their small boats and nets (Nile perch get over 200 pounds). It's all about foreign interests fishing them out of the lake with HUGE boats. But this wasn't so much a hobbyist release as an example of the impact of an invasive (a big one in this case).


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