Martin Nowak
Martin's Snakes
This is a fairly good report on hellbenders in North Carolina. Causes of declining populations are listed as: “degraded dams, heavy equipment, extreme weather, climate change, floods, droughts, predators, low water oxygen, cutting bank trees, sediment, urban runoff, luxury housing, wastewater discharge, and fish stocking.”
The last reason “fish stocking” caught my attention. The relevant paragraph:
“Private fishing clubs with state permits are stocking the river with large fish, Gangloff said, which can prey on the hellbender larvae. “When we relocate the hellbenders, we put them where there are fewer ginormous fish,” he said.”
Note that “private fishing clubs with state permits are stocking the river with large fish”.
Once again, we see oxymoronic wildlife management. Federal and state dollars and tuition dollars and tax dollars flow to the universities and state agencies to “manage” wildlife. At the same time, the state issues permits to fishing clubs to stock fish which eat the eggs, larvae and juvenile hellbenders. The story does not indicate if the stocked fish are native and does not indicate if the stocked fish are of native genetic origin.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04072024/north-carolina-hellbenders-threatened-by-climate-change/
Is this unique? No, of course not. This year in Alabama, House Bill 15 was passed by the state legislature with endorsement by the state game and fish commission (ADCNR) to allow municipalities along the Coosa River to release fish for “fishing tourism”.
Alabama HB15 allows municipalities along the Coosa River to release non-native Florida strain black bass and hybrid black bass into that waterway. Black bass are largemouth bass. Florida strain DNA bass are not native to Alabama. They get larger and are more aggressive. The purpose of the bill and such fish releases is to encourage recreational fishing resulting in increased revenue to the ADCNR via fishing licenses, and revenue along the river from fishers and presumed associated tourism. https://legiscan.com/AL/text/HB15/2024
Is it possible that if large numbers of non-native and non-genetic herptiles were released in sufficient numbers, then tourism for road hunting, collecting, and photography could add to many state’s tourism revenues (?).
Also note that I applaud these and other efforts to protect hellbenders in every state. It is not clear to me how all the efforts are coordinated within and across states, but these are worthy efforts. I hope the work on behalf of this fine salamander is successful. In Alabama, very little is done. Most of the hellbender population decline is attributed to coal mining runoff, power company plants, resultant siltation, resultant heavy metals and other contamination, and agriculture runoff.
The last reason “fish stocking” caught my attention. The relevant paragraph:
“Private fishing clubs with state permits are stocking the river with large fish, Gangloff said, which can prey on the hellbender larvae. “When we relocate the hellbenders, we put them where there are fewer ginormous fish,” he said.”
Note that “private fishing clubs with state permits are stocking the river with large fish”.
Once again, we see oxymoronic wildlife management. Federal and state dollars and tuition dollars and tax dollars flow to the universities and state agencies to “manage” wildlife. At the same time, the state issues permits to fishing clubs to stock fish which eat the eggs, larvae and juvenile hellbenders. The story does not indicate if the stocked fish are native and does not indicate if the stocked fish are of native genetic origin.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04072024/north-carolina-hellbenders-threatened-by-climate-change/
Is this unique? No, of course not. This year in Alabama, House Bill 15 was passed by the state legislature with endorsement by the state game and fish commission (ADCNR) to allow municipalities along the Coosa River to release fish for “fishing tourism”.
Alabama HB15 allows municipalities along the Coosa River to release non-native Florida strain black bass and hybrid black bass into that waterway. Black bass are largemouth bass. Florida strain DNA bass are not native to Alabama. They get larger and are more aggressive. The purpose of the bill and such fish releases is to encourage recreational fishing resulting in increased revenue to the ADCNR via fishing licenses, and revenue along the river from fishers and presumed associated tourism. https://legiscan.com/AL/text/HB15/2024
Is it possible that if large numbers of non-native and non-genetic herptiles were released in sufficient numbers, then tourism for road hunting, collecting, and photography could add to many state’s tourism revenues (?).
Also note that I applaud these and other efforts to protect hellbenders in every state. It is not clear to me how all the efforts are coordinated within and across states, but these are worthy efforts. I hope the work on behalf of this fine salamander is successful. In Alabama, very little is done. Most of the hellbender population decline is attributed to coal mining runoff, power company plants, resultant siltation, resultant heavy metals and other contamination, and agriculture runoff.