Photo courtesy of Steve McComas, Blue Water Science and Minnesota Star Tribune
“Throw those trash fish up on the bank so they don’t compete with our gamefish.”
As a kid I often heard such comments focused on sunfish, suckers and other species whose last names were not “trout” or “bass.” (Editor)
As Margo Rosenbaum noted recently in The Sacramento Bee, Andrew Rypel growing up loved to fish. But he noticed that most fishermen he encountered paid little attention to the native fish. He also noticed there were stricter fishing restrictions on game fish, like walleye and trout, than the native species.
"I learned that there were all these different types of species," Rypel said. "Most of the fishing community focused on these select game fish species."
Now an associate professor at the University of California, Davis, Rypel and his co-authors have authored a perspective, Goodbye to “Rough Fish”: Paradigm Shift in the Conservation of Native Species, published in the American Fisheries Society’s July 2021 issue of Fisheries Magazine. Their abstract:
“While sometimes difficult to admit, perspectives of European and white males have overwhelmingly dominated fisheries science and management in the USA. This dynamic is exemplified by bias against “rough fish”—a pejorative ascribing low-to-zero value for countless native fishes. One product of this bias is that biologists have ironically worked against conservation of diverse fishes for over a century, and these problems persist today. Nearly all U.S. states retain bag limits and other policies that are regressive and encourage overfishing and decline of native species. Multiple lines of evidence point towards the need for a paradigm shift. These include: (1) native species deliver critical ecosystem services; (2) little demonstration that native fish removals deliver intended benefits; (3) many native fishes are long-lived and vulnerable to overfishing and decline; and (4) fisher values and demographics shifting towards native fish conservation. Overall, existing native fish policies are unacceptable and run counter to the public trust doctrine where government agencies manage natural resources for public use. We encourage agencies to revisit their policies regarding native fishes and provide suggestions for developing more holistic, protective, and inclusive conservation policy.”