Zander-crayfish-mussels

[m1.carson]

Hi,

I've just read an enormous discussion on invasive plants, under the heading " in the middle of a bog in the New Forest" without a really conclusive answer, it seems that the powers that be make their own decision [the authorities that is] over what to do with "invasive items".

How would one find out what's happening about the Zander, zebra mussels and the NEWLY discovered MARBLED crayfish, ? these are in complete waterways not the odd patch of woodland where you can dig one plant up and say " that's it, it's now erradicated".

Max.

[Dogghound]

Regarding zander i think it would be very hard to eradicate them, and to many they are an accepted species, they also dont cause massive amounts of damage and do have quite afew natural predators.

[Paul mabbott]

Could be worse:
Fisherman catches piranha in North Carolina river - International Herald Tribune

This is a problem with people keeping animals as a hobby - they get bored or the animal gets too big .. or expensive ...

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Regarding zander i think it would be very hard to eradicate them, and to many they are an accepted species, they also dont cause massive amounts of damage and do have quite afew natural predators.

OOps sorry didn't mean to quote you dogghound
When we used to fish a few years ago I think we were told if we caught a Zander not to release it back into the wild. But we never caught one. We used to fish for pike and some people did catch them. They are supposed to taste nice.

[Chiltern Chris]

Hi,

I work for one of the ‘authorities’ and invasive species are a nightmare. A few examples in my patch include, 4 species of alien crayfish, Aussie stonecrop, zander, top-mouthed gudgeon, pumpkinseed fish, Wels catfish, giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed, mink, mitten crabs, Himalayan balsam, floating pennywort, parrot’s feather, Canadian pondweed, Nuttall's pondweed, water fern, fringed waterlily, zebra mussel, rainbow trout, goldfish, terrapins, American bull frogs and probably a yeti if we look hard enough.

At present we use different strategies for different species based on a) can we control it, b) what damage is it doing and c) is it sustainable e.g. floating pennywort we try and eradicate completely because we think we can, mink we trap on certain rivers systems to maintain specific w.vole and bird populations viable (this isn’t sustainable in the long term but necessary), giant hogweed we remove where it is a health and safety issue or it is a source of infection for other sites, Japanese knotweed is removed on specific sites only as we may have use of a cost effective biological control soon, so there’s no point in spending money on it now and some species are effectively uncontrollable e.g. signal crayfish, so we moan a lot about it and fund some research.

We do this work even though we have no legal requirement to do so, have no legal powers to ensure others play their part e.g. adjacent landowners – there’s no point in eradicating a species from a site if next door also holds a population of what ever it is, and we have no finance (or time) to undertake these works, we do what we can using already strained budgets. It’s like fighting a fire with a water pistol with the two adjacent houses on fire i.e. very frustrating.

Until the issue is taken seriously by the public and we have co-operation between the local authorities and land owners this will always be a problem – especially with members of the public either through ignorance or self interest constantly dumping these species into the countryside AHHHHHHHHHH! ( sorry if that sounds like a rant - please refer to the 'very frustrating' above, as a reason for the rant).

As for who to talk to about this, if it's a watery beast or plant your local Environment Agency Biodiversity Officer would be a good start.

[m1.carson]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the response, I've never even heard of a dozen of your invasive species, and I must live nearly on your doorstep, Caversham in the Thames Valley.

Does the Enviroment Biodiversity Agency [ignorance is bliss, never heard of them either] have or send out warning packs on species to watch out for and report ?.

I did a "contact us" to The Enviroment Agency this year and only recieved an automated reply, which wasn't too helpfull, or encouraging, we thought we'd come across some giant hog weed, but after some googlng around, decided it was hemlock, [ I picked a piece to take home and didn't break out in a rash].

Thanks,
Max.

[epops]

i believe that the marbled crayfish were imported(illegelly) for peoples aquariums they breed like rabbits so the people who have them have been releasing them into our rivers etc so its yet another hurdle for our native crays to overcome what else i wonder is going to be released by these people the place i used to fish has been ruined by signal crayfish i have'nt fished there for ages because all i seemed to catch at night was crayfish mind you i think the carp in the lake are doing well on them.

[m1.carson]

Ha,

I've just checked with "the fountain of all knowledge" [my wife], she thinks she's heard of biodiversity, it's to do with cars running on two types of petrol, or perhaps making your own diesel out of chip fat, , perhaps some of the slim funding should go on advertising.

Max.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by Paul mabbott

Could be worse:
Fisherman catches piranha in North Carolina river

Interesting, i recall a young lad catching a red bellied piranha in a fishing lake near london last year, however i seriously doubt weather they would survive a british winter or even a british summer for that matter

Also regarding Chiltern Chris, Rainbow trout are native to North America, but loads of them are stocked into british fisherys, which i presume the EA must monitor? although they arn't highly invasive.

[Chiltern Chris]

Originally Posted by m1.carson

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the response, I've never even heard of a dozen of your invasive species, and I must live nearly on your doorstep, Caversham in the Thames Valley.

Does the Enviroment Biodiversity Agency [ignorance is bliss, never heard of them either] have or send out warning packs on species to watch out for and report ?.

I did a "contact us" to The Enviroment Agency this year and only recieved an automated reply, which wasn't too helpfull, or encouraging, we thought we'd come across some giant hog weed, but after some googlng around, decided it was hemlock, [ I picked a piece to take home and didn't break out in a rash].

Hi Max,

The biggest pest species in Caversham are big, white, have an attitude problem and can be eaten by the queen (I love mute swans really but Caversham can get a bit too swantastic at times). Anyway, if you want some info. on common invasive species from the Environment Agency you could try Environment Agency - Invasive species or ring the EA's Wallingford office and speak to a Biodiversity Officer - they aren't at all automated.

As for rainbow trout, they have been stocked extensively accross southern Britain and some rivers now have very few native browns e.g. chalk rivers such as the Ver, Chess, Misbourne, & Gade. However, consents to stock rainbows are now being refused if they may interfer with existing brown populations. There's also anecdotal evidence that they have succesfully bred in some areas which is worrying but they aren't truely invasive except where they are constanly stocked in put and take fisheries. Still gives any passing otters or cormorants some easy pickings.

Cheers

Chris