Quote:
Originally Posted by TyreeUM
Im not saying you shouldn't at all be concerned, but is it possible conditions are not ideal for this fish and there is little worry from SRD they will outcompete the native fish? Just seems odd this fish has been here for 10 years and 99% of the people on this forum didn't know about it. Even more odd that fisheries is aware of it yet they aren't throwing money at it.
Sorry, I am not trying to de-rail this thread, just trying to play devils advocate.
|
There is something we are missing for sure. That being said the population appears to be growing and their range increasing into the Red Deer River. I see this is significant facts that point to a problem. Maybe someone had orange goldfish in their heads and did not understand the Prussian Carp. Maybe someone did not want to spend money. Maybe the relevance is lost in F&W if they don't have an "Invasive Species Taskforce" set up to understand all the risks from a cost, ecology risk perspective.
I bet you if most of us were unaware...likely some in F&W were unaware.
Urgency in invasive species infiltrations comes from a set defined process within the government body that is responsible.
Emergency response plans are in place for everything...except invasive species threats I suspect. Release some oil into a river...BAM ...a plan is set into play. Release a toxic cloud of gas..BAM ...a plan is set into play. Release an invasive species into Alberta...BAM...nothing happens...after a few years someone stumbles into the species...puts it in a report...tells F&W... Few years later...someone does a study...finds some. Few years later...someone does a species composition study...finds the species population and range is expanding...then what...few years later do a study to understand the effects of the introduction? That is where I draw the line. We don't study the effects...reactive invasive species management is stupid on the best of days. Proactive invasive species management is required and a detailed publicly displayed response is needed to show leadership on this issue.
There should of been a first strike policy when it was first discovered.