California state wildlife authorities began a controversial effort on Tuesday to exterminate the Northern Pike in lake Davis, in Northern California.
The offending fish is considered a threat to Salmon runs and water exports in general. The exercise involves dumping liquid poison into the water in a final monumental effort to get rid of the menace.
Ed Pert, Fish and Game’s Lake Davis project manager said,
If we don’t eradicate the pike this time, it’s probably impossible to do,
State crews were dumping close to 70000 litres of a Rotenone formulation into Lake Davis, just north of Portola in an effort to finally eradicate the Northern Pike which has been responsible for devouring the prized local trout, turning anglers away and adversely affecting the area’s economy.
The lake was first poisoned in 1997, causing outrage among locals who considered it a threat to their health.Pike reappeared in a year and a half.
Subsequently, other methods were tried o get rid of the fish including hiring commercial fishermen and using explosives and electric shocks. None of them were successful prompting officials to turn back to poisoning the lake.
This time the locals are more supportive of the effort considering it a necessary evil to revive the Lake Davis Fishery.
Source and Image : Latimes
