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Ifishtoolittle
12-29-2010, 09:56 PM
This just came across my mind after reading a Yahoo! article on Lionfish invading Florida's reefs. You know how in lakes it's easy to introduce non-native species and acquiring them is also fairly easy. Does anyone know if there are any non-native species of saltwater fish that have been introduced into Socal waters? I already know that Striped Bass aren't native to the West Coast, any others? Thanks.

DockRat
12-30-2010, 06:31 AM
'Save the Lobster' people release Maine Lobster. This guy Roger has caught 2 off Redondo several years apart. Some hoopnetter got one off LA Breakwall.


Large ships use sea water to lower the ships. San Fransisco got the Asian Clam introduced. They lower the ships before hitting rough seas by adding ballast water.
Then raise the ships when coming into port


Ballast
•Large, ocean-going vessels pump significant amounts of water into their hulls to maintain the ship's balance during trans-oceanic travel. This ballast water is then dumped when the ships make port. Removing the water helps ships navigate shallow canals and waterways.
Fish Transport
•Water pumped into ship hulls in foreign ports often contains aquatic life from around the starting port. This may include plants, bacteria, fish or other organisms. The water remains in the ship during the voyage and is released once the ship makes port. The fish released enter the foreign waters and begin to adapt to the new environment. This often results in damage to the environment and the local economy.
Damage
•Fish in new environments threaten the ecosystem balance that may be in place. New fish increase the levels of predation of various species. This effect threatens the population of the prey as well as the other predators that also rely on the diminishing food supply.

The degradation of fish populations damages the economy as well. Fisheries, often dependent on a sustainable population of fish, struggle with the diminishing stock of fish available for cultivation.
Types of Foreign Fish
•Transplanted foreign fish species are located throughout the world. The United States Geological Survey reports as many as 726 species of invasive fish. Foreign fish have invaded the Pacific and Atlantic coasts as well as the Mississippi River and Great Lakes. Asian carp are a species of particular concern to the Great Lakes area. Already present in the Illinois River, the connecting waterway between the Mississippi River and Lake Michigan, the fish species threatens to invade the Great Lakes. The Asian carp are major food consumers and have the potential to destroy vast resources in the Lakes, where the climate is similar to their native habitat.
Regulation
•The United States Coast Guard, in conjunction with the Environmental Protection Agency, performs checks of ship ballasts in United States ports. Ships are required to empty their ballasts in the open ocean and refill them with ocean water, which is less densely inhabited than coastal waters. At port, ballast water is tested for salinity. If the salinity level is below that of the open ocean, the ships are not permitted to release their ballast

http://www.ehow.com/about_6584913_foreign-fish-ballast.html

After bilge water was identified as being the primary cause of accidental transfer of invasive species, the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments was drawn up by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and representatives from the shipping industry. The Convention states that all ships much have a ballast water management plan, and that ballast must not be expelled within 50 nautical miles of a coastline (although it should preferably be discharged at least 200 nautical miles from shore). The convention was adopted by dozens of member nations in 2004.

Asian Clam :Shocked:

ORIGIN

Asian clam is a freshwater species inhabiting southern and eastern Asia (Russia, Thailand, Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan) and Africa. The source of first introduction to North America is unknown. It is suspected that this species was brought from China by immigrants as a food source and subsequently released.

This species is found in fresh waters throughout the United States including all five Gulf states and northern Mexico. Estuarine populations have been reported for the San Francisco Bay, California and Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, but none have been reported for the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem.

Ifishtoolittle
12-30-2010, 09:42 PM
Interesting stuff DR, thanks.