RE: NANFA-- A forward

Hoover, Jan J ERDC-EL-MS (Jan.J.Hoover_at_erdc.usace.army.mil)
Wed, 31 Mar 2004 11:58:53 -0600

Ray posted:
> > > It is within this same bill that the US Fish & Wildlife Service
> > > (USFWS) is authorized to list under the Lacey Act any species of
> > > aquatic organism as injurious. An injurious listing by the USFWS means
> > > that the listed species can no longer be transported into the United
> > > States or transported across state lines. Unfortunately, the USFWS has
> > > already proposed listing several aquaculture species (bighead carp,
> > > silver carp and black carp) that have been in the United States and
> > > "in trade" for over 25 years.

Doesn't an "injurious species" that is "in trade" constitute greater
environmental threat than a species that is not in trade ? Especially, if
it is highly mobile but not yet established ?

Restricting trade in bighead and silver carp may help less than restricting
trade in other potentially destructive/inasive species (like the
mollusc-gobbling black carp which is not yet known to have breeding
populations in the US).

And...a personal observation....impacts of these species can be
understimated when we only consider their characteristic habitats. The
giant Eurasian carps are considered big water species which generate concern
about impacts on lake or riverine systems, but those fish can thrive in
other smaller habitats where their impacts may be even more substantial.

- Jan
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