LACOMBE, Alta. — Small and largemouth bass, the stars of fishing shows and loved by fishermen, are eating their way through dwindling stocks of salmon and rainbow trout in British Columbia lakes.
Bass are great to eat, but they are an invasive species that is endangering native fish, said Brian Heise, a natural resources scientist with Thompson River University in Kamloops, B.C.
Large and smallmouth bass have been introduced to lakes throughout the province and are competing with trout and salmon for food. They even consider salmon tasty snacks.
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“It’s estimated bass eat one-third of all juvenile salmon in some areas of the Pacific Northwest,” Heise told the Alberta Invasive Species Council conference.
“A lot of rainbow trout are going into lakes and a lot are being eaten by bass.”
Trying to eliminate bass from B.C. lakes is not easy because of their popularity with fishermen, said Heise.
“They are a huge business. They generate large amounts of money in the U.S. and there are active bass clubs in B.C.,” he said.
Bass aren’t the only invasive fish harming native fish species, said Heise.
Yellow perch, also popular with fishermen, create havoc with native species. Larger fish avoid eating them because of their spiny backs and fins, and the perch’s aggressive nature force trout away from desirable feeding locations.
Walleye are making their way into B.C. through the Columbia River system. They eat native fish and have few predators. They also compete with native fish for food.
Northern pike are fun to catch, but Heise called them “pigs with fins” because of their voracious appetite.
“There is a risk they will totally wipe out native fish,” he said.
In small lakes with stocks of invasive species, Heise promotes killing all the fish in the lake with rotenone, a poison that will kill the fish but nothing else.
The naturally occurring chemical breaks down in a few weeks and the lake can be restocked with native species.
He said education is key in B.C. to prevent anglers from moving the invasive undesirable fish to lakes around the province.
“Once the fish are established in a large watershed, all you can do is reduce the population,” he said.
“You’re not going to get rid of them.”
