invasive species

Commercial Carp Fishery Grows In Midwest, Which *Sounds* Like a Good Thing…

August 15, 2011, by No comments yet

Commercial fishermen are netting invasive Asian carp species out of the Illinois River in huge numbers, which is probably good news for both jobless folks and native species.

This New York Times story outlines the growth in the commercial carp fishery and the government dollars flowing into the industry, and for those concerned about depressed native fish stocks, the news is frankly pretty good:

For many people, Asian carp are proving more boon than bane. Bolstered by government support, the Asian carp harvest has leapt thirtyfold in the past decade, creating a new industry, attracting fishermen and entrepreneurs, and feeding people all over the world.

“We’ve been ramping up for years,” said Mike Schafer, owner of Schafer Fisheries.

In 2010, the company sold some 20 million pounds of Asian carp to clients as far-flung as Turkey and Indonesia, up from two million pounds in 2006.

“We’re out in front,” Mr. Schafer said, “and it’s going to get bigger.”

The story goes on to detail the multi-million dollar grants and new plant expansions taking place — all of which sound great until you get to the final paragraph of the story:

“We want to crash the population,” said Kevin Irons, aquaculture and aquatic nuisance manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “We’re not trying to find a sustainable yield.”

I understand the aim, but it sounds like we’re  going to build an industry based on a runaway population of invasives — one that will not exist (if managers have their way) five years from now.

I’m all for making lemonade out of lemons — and commercial netting sure as hell cut the legs out of plenty of other fish stocks — but I’m having a hell of a time squaring that final sentence with all that went before it.

See you wondering who edited that article, Tom Chandler.

Montana, Oregon Join States Already Considering Felt Sole Ban (or, You’ll Use Rubber And Like It…)

January 13, 2011, by 31 comments

Banning felt soled-wading boots from our waters isn’t the clear-cut concept some would suggest, or at least you’d believe so given the storm of comments spawned by my last post on the subject (See: Bans on Felt Soled Wading Boots Gathering Steam: How Long Until You’re Wearing Rubber (And Practicing Safe Wading)?)

studded rubber wading boots

Are aggressively studded rubber boots about to become the only legal way to remain upright?

Now – with Alaska already on board, and both Montana and Oregon weighing legislation that would ban felt soles – I’d suggest the arguing may soon be over – or at best, about to fall into the fait accompli category (Latin for The Fat Lady Has Sung).

Like my post forecasting the eventual demise of felt soles, the post on the Headhunter Fly Shop blog about Montana’s proposed ban generated a fair number of comments, suggesting fly fishermen hold strong opinions about an issue that some feel is clear cut, but then, that’s not exactly news these days.

I can’t help but notice my reasons for switching to rubber (longevity, better dry-rock grip on small streams, better in winter) aren’t much in evidence during these discussions, suggesting I’m either a man ahead of my time, or just way cheaper than my readers.

Either way, it appears the clock’s ticking on felt, and while I’ve grown tired of the accusatory emails I receive every time an angler slips while wearing any of the studded rubber soles I’ve reviewed, I stick by my latest assessment: studded rubber offers pretty good grip; should last a long time; doesn’t load up with mud or snow; and should be easier to disinfect than felt.

What’s New

Since my last review, manufacturers haven’t been standing still. While I don’t track the industry like I once did, I have seen a few wading boot improvements come over the transom; here are the handful I remember. (What’s the second thing that goes with old age?)

Patagonia

Patagonia has announced a new wading boot with what appears to be a more aggressively treaded – and heavily studded – rubber sole.

They aren’t discontinuing their soft-rubber Riverwalker boots (sigh of relief), but they are clearly getting serious about grip, and suggested in an email that they’re still using a soft rubber for good dry land grip.

Korkers

The new Korkers “Chrome” boot won raves from dealers, and I’ve noticed they’re now selling their aggressively designed Predator screw-in studs (which offer a bladed design similar to the very effective Orvis studs).

In simple terms, the old Korkers kind a sucked, but the new ones are pretty damned nice. These are worth a look.

Orvis

Orvis has spread its “Eco-Trax” studded rubber sole (the grippiest studded rubber sole during my test) across its line, and also – in a nod to those how don’t mind looking goofy – now offer wading boot “stud covers” which you wear outside your wading boot (like giant sandals).

They’re unlikely to help you score heavy with the babes (or the hunks), but they might save your floor.

Simms

In addition to its aggressive-looking HardBite Star cleats, Simms released its AlumiBite cleat, which is designed to offer grip without chewing the hell out of your car, drift boat or floor into something unpretty (note that the Simms site doesn’t actually say that last bit; it’s just what I was told at the Headhunters fly shop).

Crowded, Fast-Evolving Marketplace

I first started testing rubber-soled wading boots more than two years ago, and in the short interval since then, wading boot sole technology has advanced a great deal.

I originally suggested felt’s replacement with newer rubber soles was inevitable for reasons of longevity, convenience and all-around performance.

Given enough time, I still suspect I’m right, but with states seemingly anxious to legislate felt out of existence (once Alaska & Montana go, others will follow), the switch is coming – and faster than you might expect.

See you with feet planted firmly on the bottom, Tom Chandler.

Think That Spray Bottle of Formula 409 Protects Your Gear From Invasives? Think Again…

November 22, 2010, by 8 comments

Like most of us, I read about Formula 409′s near-magical ability to kill New Zealand Mud Snails.

I also read that the Formula 409 used wasn’t the everyday Formula 409 you buy in the stores, but a lot of fly fishermen apparently didn’t get that last memo, and word has spread about Formula 409.

Which – as it turns out – doesn’t work very well at all. At least according to this from the Center For Aquatic Nuisance website (The Story of Formula 409):

The news that CDFG said that Formula 409© would disinfect wading gear spread rapidly through the fishing community. Many anglers began to carry spray bottles and have become religious about cleaning their boots with Formula 409© after each trip.

Unfortunately, from the very beginning, anglers failed to understand that the measures needed to disinfect boots using Formula 409© went far beyond just spraying the boots.

The first problem for the average angler is that the disinfection method used in the CDFG experiments were never adequately communicated by the fishing community.

The CDFG Formula 409© experiments were conducted by taking boots and sealing them in a waterproof bag along with 2 – 2 ½ gallons of 50% Formula 409©. The bag was then sealed and vigorously shaken to make sure all boot parts were soaked. The boots were soaked in the chemical solution for a full five minutes. Only when thoroughly soaked for at least five minutes did the 50% Formula 409© prove to be effective at killing NZMS.

A second misunderstanding that many anglers experienced was that the 409 compound used by the researchers was a completely different formulation than that which is sold in spray bottles. Formula 409© is made by Clorox Company and they actually make five or six different chemical combinations that they market as varieties of Formula 409©. The Formula 409© used by the CDFG researchers was a special degreaser formula that is not what is typically available.

As word spread that Formula 409© was an effective disinfectant the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) determined that they needed additional information before they could recommend its use. Consequently, they conducted a second series of experiments using Formula 409©. Their research was published in a peer-reviewed article published in North American Journal of Fisheries Management magazine titled Application of Household Disinfectants to Control New Zealand Mudsnails .

The CDOW researchers compared the efficacy of treating with Formula 409© to treatments with the disinfectant Sparquat, a disinfectant not commonly available to the public that is used by some agencies to disinfect their equipment. In the CDOW study the researchers discovered that Formula 409© was only effective in killing mud snails when used at 100% strength in a soak for a minimum of 10 minutes. These researchers questioned the previous claim that a five minute soak in a 50% concentration was adequate to kill the snails as their work showed 100% for 10 minutes was actually required.

The story also noted a few other unfortunate realities for fly fishermen:

  • Spraying any kind of Formula 409 isn’t effective (only soaking in a bag works)
  • Formula 409 isn’t a universal disinfectant; its effectivness against other invasives is unclear at best
  • Only the very hard-to-find “degreaser” version of Formula 409 proved more than marginally effective – not the spray stuff

OK. It’s not exactly stellar news in the war on invasives, but if you’ve been spraying standard Formula 409 on your wading boots and calling it good (against all invasives), you’ve been deluding yourself.

Dang.

See you back at the lab, Tom Chandler

UPDATE: Ralph Cutter has good info at his site, though it’s clear that the degreaser style of Formula 409 is pretty hard to come by…

Bans on Felt Soled Wading Boots Gathering Steam: How Long Until You’re Wearing Rubber (And Practicing Safe Wading)?

February 26, 2010, by 50 comments

The power’s flickering on and off like a damn pinball game today, so you’re reading a draft of what could have been another brilliant post. Damn.

Felt-soled wading boots for fly fishermen may be the sport’s latest endangered species; bans on felt soles seem to be picking up steam. What will fly fishermen be wearing five years from now?

The latest ban has appeared in Alaska’s southeast region – a ban that could easily be extended to cover the entire state (from the Juneau Empire):

A new ban on felt-soled wading shoes is set to take place next year as Juneau fishermen take to freshwater streams with fly rods in hand.

The ban is meant to keep nasty fish diseases from creeping into waters on the waders of traveling fishermen.

A proposal to expand the ban from the Southeast region statewide will be considered by the state Board of Fisheries at its March meeting in Anchorage.

…

Whirling disease is just one communicable fish disease of concern. Didymo, an algae also called rock snot, mud snails and zebra mussels are others that can kill all the fish in a stream.

“The waters where fly fishermen tend to fish and wade have become a map of the spread of these problems,” Vinsel said.

Ouch. Fly fishermen seem to bearing the brunt of the criticism over the spread of invasives – as are felt soles.

The extent of the blame that can be laid on felt soles isn’t really all that clear, and one of the cruel ironies of a felt sole ban is that fly fishermen – thinking their rubber-soled wading boots and waders were now “safe” – might actually become less vigilant about cleaning.

These bans are aimed traveling fly fishermen, which only makes sense; the stuff already in the river isn’t the problem.

The stuff from someone else’s river is. Read more →

New Zealand Mud Snails Discovered in Russian River: How Do We Stop This?

September 18, 2008, by 23 comments

And the invasives keep marching on (from the Ukiah Daily Journal):

The New Zealand mud snail, an invasive species of pest, has been discovered in Russian River waters.

Never before found in Mendocino County, the small aquatic snail is known to have been in California since 2000, stated a news release from the Mendocino County Department of Agriculture.

Salmon and trout populations may be harmed by the spread of the snail, the county stated.

One mud snail can grow to a population of 40 million mud snails in a year, the county stated. About 500,000 mud snails can fit inside the space of one square yard. A full grown mud snail can grow to a size of about 1/8 inch.

The New Zealand Mud Snail isn’t controllable and really can’t be eradicated (yet). Still, anglers can help prevent the spread by freezing their gear for six hours, or using one of a handful of other eradication methods.

It’s clear anglers are responsible for the spread of many invasives, and introducing another rubber-soled wading boot is far from the whole answer.

I’m open to suggestions from the Undergrounders. And I know a handful of industry types read the Underground, so make ‘em good.

For example, how many fly shops now offer decontamination stations? For that matter, is anyone selling a “decontamination station in a box”?

How many gear manufacturers offer innovative wet bags that allow you to step out of your waders, then soak (and tumble) them in a cleaning solution?

For that matter, are wading boots are designed to handle repeated freezings – or dunkings in industrial strength Formula 409?

Frankly, I don’t know, but I think it’s time we found out.

The NZ Mud Snail infected floor is yours, Undergrounders. Any ideas?

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