07-10-2019, 02:45 PM
[quote fish_fanatic]I have many reservations on how they manage certain waters in Utah
... to much with all of the steryl fish they are planting.... steryl fish grow at a more rapid rate and I think that the forage fish have a hard time in getting good numbers.[/quote]
??
Reasons to use sterile fish:
A. population numbers are 100% controllable. If you have too many, you cut back stocking. If you have too few you increase stocking. If they cause an unintended problem, you stop stocking. The risk with sterile fish is controllable. This is assuming that the sterile fish really are sterile.
B. Control "forage" or "non desirable" fish.
The problem with the comment by fish_fanatic is that in most Utah waters those "forage" fish are not necessarily desirable, which is why the hybrid (wiper) is being stocked in the first place -- to reduce (remove?) those fish. "Getting good numbers" of those forage fish isn't what the managment plan is calling for.
One more thing: letting mother nature take her course is usually not desirable either. If you let mother nature take her course, you end up with a situation like Scofield or Yuba. Capr and chubs would dominate, and you'd end up with a fishery that nobody fishes. Remember: Mother nature does not balance. Rather, she provides opportunities for species to exploit. Once a species latches on they don't let go and level off at a balance point -- they continue to go, and go, and go until the system breaks. Mother nature is not a nice person. She's a real witch.
[signature]
... to much with all of the steryl fish they are planting.... steryl fish grow at a more rapid rate and I think that the forage fish have a hard time in getting good numbers.[/quote]
??
Reasons to use sterile fish:
A. population numbers are 100% controllable. If you have too many, you cut back stocking. If you have too few you increase stocking. If they cause an unintended problem, you stop stocking. The risk with sterile fish is controllable. This is assuming that the sterile fish really are sterile.
B. Control "forage" or "non desirable" fish.
The problem with the comment by fish_fanatic is that in most Utah waters those "forage" fish are not necessarily desirable, which is why the hybrid (wiper) is being stocked in the first place -- to reduce (remove?) those fish. "Getting good numbers" of those forage fish isn't what the managment plan is calling for.
One more thing: letting mother nature take her course is usually not desirable either. If you let mother nature take her course, you end up with a situation like Scofield or Yuba. Capr and chubs would dominate, and you'd end up with a fishery that nobody fishes. Remember: Mother nature does not balance. Rather, she provides opportunities for species to exploit. Once a species latches on they don't let go and level off at a balance point -- they continue to go, and go, and go until the system breaks. Mother nature is not a nice person. She's a real witch.
[signature]