Russian Incursion !
- Thread starter Rip Tide
- Start date
k_e_v
Well-known member
Serious but possibly ignorant question.......is this a bad thing?
I am not in the Salmon fishing world and have limited knowledge about the issues
Kev
I am not in the Salmon fishing world and have limited knowledge about the issues
Kev
littledavid123
Well-known member
My personal opinion, I don't think the introduction of a non-native species is ever a good idea. We never know the consequences until it's too late to go back.
Dave
el jefe
Well-known member
Perhaps Robert Mueller will investigate.
k_e_v
Well-known member
I Absolutely agree. I was mainly responding to the quoted text of “haven’t seen them in a long time”. I assumed from this quote that they had been around a long time ago and aren’t invasive. I guess it’s time to fire up the google machine? and do a little reading
The problem with Pinks is that they can become prolific. They are the smallest of the 5 species of Pacific Salmon but make up for their size in shear numbers. The Pink Salmon is one which the fry migrate shortly after leaving the nesting gravel, they begin to move down river toward salt water early in their first year of life. By doing so they avoid predication that often befalls other species of salmons. For instance, the King, sockeye and silver salmon fry will remain in the natal waters for up to 18 - 24 months before they exit toward the oceans as smolt sized fish. Those species then spend between 1.5 and 4 years living in the saline environment before their return as adults.
I can't prove my theory on the pinks having a lower mortality rate than other species but it may serve to reason that tiny young fish that leave natal waters which are often full of trout and many other predators could experience a better chance of surviving to adulthood.
The danger of having Pinks establishing a new range in river systems where Atlantic Salmon are trying to reestablish themselves as a native species could be that the pinks would be competing for proper substrate gravels for use in spawning. The one way that the pinks could somehow fit in would be that if their run return did not directly coincide with the spawning timing of the Atlantic fishes. These two species may also require different size gravel substrate for use in spawning and varied current and depth requirements. The young could also offer an additional food source to Atlantic Salmon and other trout's and char who dwell in the rivers and estuaries of the rivers. All of this would be an attempt by myself to try to somehow spin their appearance into something less than their being an invasive having catastrophic effects on an Atlantic Salmon population currently involved in recovery from severely depleted state.
If Atlantic Salmons were extinct then to see another fish move into the niche created by their absence wouldn't be such a bad thing however that doesn't seem to be the case here. An invasive is an invasive...............
I can't prove my theory on the pinks having a lower mortality rate than other species but it may serve to reason that tiny young fish that leave natal waters which are often full of trout and many other predators could experience a better chance of surviving to adulthood.
The danger of having Pinks establishing a new range in river systems where Atlantic Salmon are trying to reestablish themselves as a native species could be that the pinks would be competing for proper substrate gravels for use in spawning. The one way that the pinks could somehow fit in would be that if their run return did not directly coincide with the spawning timing of the Atlantic fishes. These two species may also require different size gravel substrate for use in spawning and varied current and depth requirements. The young could also offer an additional food source to Atlantic Salmon and other trout's and char who dwell in the rivers and estuaries of the rivers. All of this would be an attempt by myself to try to somehow spin their appearance into something less than their being an invasive having catastrophic effects on an Atlantic Salmon population currently involved in recovery from severely depleted state.
If Atlantic Salmons were extinct then to see another fish move into the niche created by their absence wouldn't be such a bad thing however that doesn't seem to be the case here. An invasive is an invasive...............
k_e_v
Well-known member
Thanks Ard for the information. Makes more sense now
Kevin
Kevin
Hi Kevin,
I'm far from an expert on salmon but have been around the fisheries since the 80's and came to some realizations although many are hypothetical they are based on what I think I know.
One other foot note about pinks would be that when they are in the salt or having just entered the river system they will bite quite readily. They are also good eating when fresh but they quickly change taking on color. It seems that everything about them is a bit accelerated including the rapid morphological changes they undergo once back in fresh water. Generally the best way to catch them after they are 20 - 30 miles up the rivers is to find an area where there are very few of them. Otherwise they can be found in hoards and most that you will hook are the result of pinning one in the fins or on the hump in the case of the males.
I don't fish for them unless I'm fortunate to be at an estuary when they arrive. In that case they bite and I keep them.
I'm far from an expert on salmon but have been around the fisheries since the 80's and came to some realizations although many are hypothetical they are based on what I think I know.
One other foot note about pinks would be that when they are in the salt or having just entered the river system they will bite quite readily. They are also good eating when fresh but they quickly change taking on color. It seems that everything about them is a bit accelerated including the rapid morphological changes they undergo once back in fresh water. Generally the best way to catch them after they are 20 - 30 miles up the rivers is to find an area where there are very few of them. Otherwise they can be found in hoards and most that you will hook are the result of pinning one in the fins or on the hump in the case of the males.
I don't fish for them unless I'm fortunate to be at an estuary when they arrive. In that case they bite and I keep them.
Unknownflyman
Well-known member
Pinks are all over our north shore due to an accidental dumping in the early 70's they are prolific and reproduce well, we still have large runs.
So they are showing up in the U.K. and Scandinavia, I know anglers are tying to catch them and kill them off before they get a foot in the door and I believe fisheries personnel fear they hurt the Atlantic salmon population.
So they are showing up in the U.K. and Scandinavia, I know anglers are tying to catch them and kill them off before they get a foot in the door and I believe fisheries personnel fear they hurt the Atlantic salmon population.
Lewis Chessman
Well-known member
Pinks have been turning up in increasing numbers in the UK and Ireland this year. A few on the UK fishing forums say they've encountered one or two before this year but personally, I've never heard of them being here until this season.
Here's the UK FFF thread on Pinks.
What little I know is that they arrive in the rivers to spawn around July - as such, they will not compete on the redds with Atlantic salmon or trout/sea trout which spawn in Nov./ Dec with us.
As Ard says, the Pink juveniles don't stay in the river long. However, I dread to think how large an Pink invasion would have to be before their eggs & juveniles provided any significant food source for the Atlantic salmon parr and smolts (the Atlantic adults don't feed once returned to freshwater, of course) - and if they do establish significant numbers ..... they'll be eating their share of parr-sized fish food themselves, inevitably lessening that available to the indigenous species.
To my mind it's a worrying situation and I'm saddened to hear that the problem has spread so far afield as to affect you, too. It's very rare that non-native introductions have positive effects on the environment. Also, if they can get to N&L from Scandinavia it suggests we may see more and more in the UK in the future as distance appears no object.
One small, good thing for us in this age of Catch and Release ..... they look so different to the Atlantic salmon, even a small grilse, that any angler aware of the problem will kill any caught rather than slipping them back. In fact, I've been advised by my local fishery board to do so and report the catch for their data. I hope that the relevant authorities here can combine forces in a national awareness campaign to enable all anglers immediately to identify Pinks but, frankly, that's probably wishful thinking.
All the best, James.