Exotic fish pose threat to area lakes

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By SEAN CHISZAR Herald Journal Managing Editor
[email protected]


Ryan Blackman, a young Department of Natural Resources conservation officer who is assigned to this area, has never seen an exotic, non-native fish in the twin lakes of Freeman and Shafer.

He hopes he never does.

“It’s like littering,” Blackman said. “Exotic fish can cause havoc. They compete for food, they eat native eggs.

“If they do get established, you have to kill everything and start all over again.”

While it’s fine to stock fish in a private pond, it is not permissible to stock any type of fish in a public waterway.

“It’s illegal to release any fish in any state waters,” Blackman said. “You must go through a permit process, and it’s a violation if you are caught without having a permit.”

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has issued an emergency rule making it illegal to buy, sell or possess three kinds of fish so aggressive and prolific that officials fear they’re capable of taking over state waterways.

Asian carp, snakehead fish and white perch are voracious eaters that quickly outcompete native fish for food or eat the fish. Only the Asian carp and white perch are known to be in state waterways. The Asian carp has been reported to be as close to the twin lakes as south of the Oakdale Dam in the Tippecanoe River.

Officials worry that the snakehead, a native of Asia sold by aquarium shops and some Asian food markets, could be released by their owners. In Maryland, a man released two fish into a four-acre pond two years ago. By the time the fish - capable of growing to 40 inches and 15 pounds - were discovered this spring, there were hundreds.

The new Indiana rule, which took effect on Dec. 1, 2002, requires anyone who catches or owns any of the fish to destroy them immediately. Failure to do so is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail or a $500 fine.

Officials are especially concerned that Asian carp - which can grow to four feet and weigh 90 pounds - could reach the Great Lakes, where scientists say they could quickly devastate native fish populations and collapse fisheries.

Brought to the United States for food, the carp escaped from southern fish ponds during flooding in the 1990s and have destroyed some commercial fisheries in the Mississippi River. They now are within 50 miles of Lake Michigan in Illinois; an electric barrier at the sanitary and Ship Canal near Chicago is the only thing between the fish and the lake.

Blackman said anglers should notify the agency if they spot any of the banned fish in a lake or river. Aquarium owners who need help disposing of a snakehead can call the DNR as well.

“Usually, the only time someone reports it is if they catch it,” Blackman said. “If they catch something non-native, contact a fisheries biologist.”

Blackman said Bob Robertson at the Kankakee Fish and Wildlife Area in North Judson is this area’s fisheries biologist. He can be reached by calling 574-896-3673.

“Call first, then get a picture of it. We need to know where it was caught and what it was caught on,” Blackman said.

“Or it’s best to just freeze the whole thing.”