AURORA - Globalization of the world has meant increasing connections among countries' economies, the quicker spread of diseases between hemispheres and the more imminent threat of terrorism.
And it has meant the infestation of invasive aquatic species from across the world into North American waters.
Freighters shipping from central Europe pump their internal ballast tanks full of water from their home ports, “literally drawing in thousands of potentially invasive species,” said David MacNeil, a fisheries specialist with the New York State Sea Grant. When changing water at ports in North America, the invasive species are released.
But the fear of invasive species, ranging from European zebra mussels to the Asian northern snakehead, popularized as the “Frankenfish,” are overblown, MacNeil said.
He was one of the speakers at Saturday's gathering at Wells College organized by the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network to assess the health of the lake's fish.
“It's very serious,” MacNeil said. “But it's not the next avian flu outbreak if they arrive here.”
Most invasive species that are brought as stowaways into non-native areas fail to invade, he said. When they do successfully invade an ecosystem, the ecosystems' native species are usually in decline already.
Two of the types of invasive species that might come into the Finger Lakes were intentionally introduced: Asian carp species and the northern snakehead.
The carp species, hailing from China, were introduced into the United States for aquaculture purposes in the south in the 1970s. They escaped into the Mississippi River with flooding. The carp species have not been seen in the Great Lakes or the Finger Lakes yet, but if they arrive, they could compete with other invasive species, like zebra mussels, for eating algae, which is at the bottom of the food chain.
The northern snakehead is originally from Japan and the Koreas and is a popular choice in Asian markets, as well as a popular fishtank species. It is now found in Maine, Massachusetts, a Yonkers area lake, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Virginia, but the only reproductive population is in the Potomac River. The snakehead could compete with top predatory game fish like trout, bass and Atlantic salmon.
The snakehead can seem eerie because it breathes air, can drown and can travel on land for short distances.
Because it thrives in 32- to 92-degree weather and can live under ice, it might do well in the Finger Lakes.
MacNeil warned the public fear that has surrounded snakeheads since several snakeheads were found in a Maryland pond in the summer of 2002 may be premature because it is not clear what impact the snakeheads will have on native species.
Sometimes invasive species are not bad news, he said, noting an Oneida Lake study that found smallmouth bass seem unaffected by the introduction of zebra mussels into the lake. One theory is that as zebra mussels clear the water of algae, it allows smallmouth bass to have more success in hunting.
MacNeil said there are simple options to slow the inevitable spread of invasive species. Measures include scraping clean small boats before dipping them into the next body of water, and more stringent regulation of the worldwide shipping industry's transfer of ballast water.
There may even be unexpected benefits of invasive species, he said.
Reportedly, Asian carp taste better than tuna, and snakeheads taste like yellow perch, so they might become enjoyable eating catches, he said.
For the state Department of Environmental Conservation's part in things, said Jeffrey Robins, a DEC aquatic biologist, the agency wants to strike a balance between stocking predatory gamefish for the fishing public and avoiding the overeating of prey fish.
The DEC recently completed its fall collection of eggs from lake trout and rainbow trout, which are then hatched at a Bath hatchery and later released into the states' waters. Other fish are stocked in the state from domestic hatchery stock.
Another way the DEC monitors the health of the game fish population is the monitoring of parasitic sea lampreys, he said. Lampreys have a sucking disc for a mouth, and they attach to other fish's bodies to suck at bodily fluids, at least weakening and often killing the fish. Their favored spot is around the pectoral fin, putting the prey fish's heart one inch from the lamprey's mouth.
If a Cayuga Lake 10-year cycle continues, the DEC may have to release the chemical TFM as it did in 1986 and 1996 at one of Cayuga Lake's tributaries. The chemical kills lamprey larvae, but not other fish, he said.
The health of Cayuga Lake is generally good, said Cliff Kraft, an associate professor of fisheries management at Cornell University.
Kraft finds that the natural geology of the area with its clay soils - and not agricultural runoff - contributes to sediments in the lake. But he thinks agriculture drainage of the lake proper and its tributaries may be more of an issue.
“It really is one really nice lake,” Robins said.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
Freighters shipping from central Europe pump their internal ballast tanks full of water from their home ports, “literally drawing in thousands of potentially invasive species,” said David MacNeil, a fisheries specialist with the New York State Sea Grant. When changing water at ports in North America, the invasive species are released.
But the fear of invasive species, ranging from European zebra mussels to the Asian northern snakehead, popularized as the “Frankenfish,” are overblown, MacNeil said.
He was one of the speakers at Saturday's gathering at Wells College organized by the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network to assess the health of the lake's fish.
“It's very serious,” MacNeil said. “But it's not the next avian flu outbreak if they arrive here.”
Most invasive species that are brought as stowaways into non-native areas fail to invade, he said. When they do successfully invade an ecosystem, the ecosystems' native species are usually in decline already.
Two of the types of invasive species that might come into the Finger Lakes were intentionally introduced: Asian carp species and the northern snakehead.
The carp species, hailing from China, were introduced into the United States for aquaculture purposes in the south in the 1970s. They escaped into the Mississippi River with flooding. The carp species have not been seen in the Great Lakes or the Finger Lakes yet, but if they arrive, they could compete with other invasive species, like zebra mussels, for eating algae, which is at the bottom of the food chain.
The northern snakehead is originally from Japan and the Koreas and is a popular choice in Asian markets, as well as a popular fishtank species. It is now found in Maine, Massachusetts, a Yonkers area lake, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Virginia, but the only reproductive population is in the Potomac River. The snakehead could compete with top predatory game fish like trout, bass and Atlantic salmon.
The snakehead can seem eerie because it breathes air, can drown and can travel on land for short distances.
Because it thrives in 32- to 92-degree weather and can live under ice, it might do well in the Finger Lakes.
MacNeil warned the public fear that has surrounded snakeheads since several snakeheads were found in a Maryland pond in the summer of 2002 may be premature because it is not clear what impact the snakeheads will have on native species.
Sometimes invasive species are not bad news, he said, noting an Oneida Lake study that found smallmouth bass seem unaffected by the introduction of zebra mussels into the lake. One theory is that as zebra mussels clear the water of algae, it allows smallmouth bass to have more success in hunting.
MacNeil said there are simple options to slow the inevitable spread of invasive species. Measures include scraping clean small boats before dipping them into the next body of water, and more stringent regulation of the worldwide shipping industry's transfer of ballast water.
There may even be unexpected benefits of invasive species, he said.
Reportedly, Asian carp taste better than tuna, and snakeheads taste like yellow perch, so they might become enjoyable eating catches, he said.
For the state Department of Environmental Conservation's part in things, said Jeffrey Robins, a DEC aquatic biologist, the agency wants to strike a balance between stocking predatory gamefish for the fishing public and avoiding the overeating of prey fish.
The DEC recently completed its fall collection of eggs from lake trout and rainbow trout, which are then hatched at a Bath hatchery and later released into the states' waters. Other fish are stocked in the state from domestic hatchery stock.
Another way the DEC monitors the health of the game fish population is the monitoring of parasitic sea lampreys, he said. Lampreys have a sucking disc for a mouth, and they attach to other fish's bodies to suck at bodily fluids, at least weakening and often killing the fish. Their favored spot is around the pectoral fin, putting the prey fish's heart one inch from the lamprey's mouth.
If a Cayuga Lake 10-year cycle continues, the DEC may have to release the chemical TFM as it did in 1986 and 1996 at one of Cayuga Lake's tributaries. The chemical kills lamprey larvae, but not other fish, he said.
The health of Cayuga Lake is generally good, said Cliff Kraft, an associate professor of fisheries management at Cornell University.
Kraft finds that the natural geology of the area with its clay soils - and not agricultural runoff - contributes to sediments in the lake. But he thinks agriculture drainage of the lake proper and its tributaries may be more of an issue.
“It really is one really nice lake,” Robins said.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
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