Threat to Native Wildlife & Local Economies Prompts Service to List Them as Injurious

By Justin Stakes

Threat to Native Wildlife and Local Economies from Eleven Foreign Species Prompts Service to List Them as Injurious Under the Lacey Act

Washington, DC -(AmmoLand.com)- To protect our nation’s native aquatic resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a proposed rule to list 10 nonnative freshwater fish species and 1 non native freshwater crayfish species as “injurious wildlife” under the Lacey Act.

The fish are the crucian carp, Prussian carp, Eurasian minnow, roach, stone moroko, Nile perch, Amur sleeper, European perch, zander, and wels catfish. The crayfish is the common yabby. Except for the zander, which is found in one lake in North Dakota, these species are not currently present in U.S. waters.

However, all 11 species have the potential to become highly invasive if introduced into the wild in the United States to the detriment of our freshwater habitats, their native species, and the local economies they support.

“Proactive measures authorized under the Lacey Act are imperative for preventing invasive species from entering U.S. ecosystems,” said Service Director Dan Ashe. “This rule, if finalized, will help our nation avoid the ecological damages and economic losses associated with these 11 species while protecting our nation’s diverse …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand