Are there any yellowfish breeding programs?

[Chris Shelton]

hi all,

Mike (Maximum?) made me aware of this thread and asked if I would like to post, thanks Mike.

Part of the reason why there are relatively few yellowfish breeding projects in existence in RSA is partly due to the moratorium the Yellowfish Working Group placed on stocking yellowfish some 4 odd years back: this moratorium was put in place because very little is known about the differences in DNA between the various yellowfish species, until we know what populations are indeed distinct species it would be dangerous to allow parties to stock fish from 1 side of a catchment to another, or from 1 river system to another (even if the distance between the 2 only a few kms).

breeding projects would of course exacerbate this problem as a large volume of fish of species x would be available for stocking, possibly into rivers that are not the natural range of that species. the result of this would potentially be:

1. interbreeding with the indigenous yellowfish species, leading to a weak strain of fish that would have reduced immunity and potential to fight the elements and disease... ultimately extinction is very possible in this scenario.

2. the introduced species may displace the indigenous species due to aggresiveness, habitat requirement, feeding habits etc resulting in extinction of the indigenous species

the YWG genetic study is pretty much concluded after years of hard work in sample collection from all over RSA and Lesotho and beyond and the final reports are being written up by the Profs involved.

Hopefully thereafter, private and public bodies will be empowered information to make informed decisions around which species should be supported with stockings in which areas.

in the 60's and 70's a number of yellowfish of the wrong species were introduced to support local species that had been impacted by pollution etc...there were some undesirable effects, we'd like to avoid this happeneing again.

Of course the ideal is to maintain the natural habitat in a pristine state so that stocking is unecessary.

I hope this has added some further perspective to your discussion on yellowfish breeding programmes.

Please email me at keith@yellowsonfly.com should you wish to discuss further on this or other subjects.

Some of you may remember the thread on day ticket fees, Mike (Maximum) and I are meeting up for a beer to discuss further, please contact me if you are keen to join us some time next week in JHB.

cheers,
keith

Thanks for your valuable insight and contribution Keith. It is great to have knowledgable guys like you on the sight. Please don't let this be your last visit. We need more guys like you on here. Thanks again!

[dar]

Very interesting indeed, the last resort, as you say is to have human intervention. The best thing would be to prevent the extinction by eliminating pollution, poaching etc.

I find it disturbing however that "papgooiers" and unscrupulous people with no regard for conservation and preservation of dwindling species are allowed to continue as they do with noone rapping them over the knuckles. In the reptile industry it is illegal to even keep snakes etc captive without a specific permit to do so. In Gauteng it is impossible to obtain such a permit. A permit is required to move a reptile from one location to another and a permit costs money. Surely this money can go towards rangers etc to enforce and further protection of these species?

We flyfishers, as concerned people should take action when we spot potential problems arising.

[dizzy]

Dar you do have a valid point, and I think that many of us feel the same. Unfortunately there are not enough of us joining forces to make a dent.

[Herman Jooste]

Guys, believe me it's not only the papgooiers who are uninformed! I was chatting with some experienced yellow flyfishers on Sunday at Geelvis Paradys. We got talking about catches and the one bloke bragged of a 6.7kg LM yellow caught near Kimberley which he "GAVE" to the owner of the farm! When I diplomaticaly pointed out that it was illegal to kill a LM yellow he argued that I was wrong and that it was the SM yellows that were protected and not the LM yellows.
Eissshhh we have a long way to go

[MaXiMuM]

Mike (Maximum?) made me aware of this thread and asked if I would like to post, thanks Mike.

Yes thats me...

[NCBass]

It is pretty useless to stock them back into the original rivers as this would simply increase the condition factor of the resident Bass populations. There are however plans afoot to create "safe rivers" by poisoning Bass populations and blocking these rivers off from re infestation by building barriers.

Better alternative to poisonong: Catch them and enjoy the sport and good eating! Unfortunately Bass was introduced into the Clanwilliam water system causing the Clanwilliam Yellows to disappear. The Largemouth Yellow also appears on the IUCN red list for endangered species, but not due to Bass in the Vaal river system. Barbel is a much bigger danger to Yellows than Bass could ever be and yet the species has been surviving before the introduction of Bass into our waters.

Guys, believe me it's not only the papgooiers who are uninformed! I was chatting with some experienced yellow flyfishers on Sunday at Geelvis Paradys. We got talking about catches and the one bloke bragged of a 6.7kg LM yellow caught near Kimberley which he "GAVE" to the owner of the farm! When I diplomaticaly pointed out that it was illegal to kill a LM yellow he argued that I was wrong and that it was the SM yellows that were protected and not the LM yellows.
Eissshhh we have a long way to go

Got some very uninformed Spearfishermen around Kimberley hunting all species, including LM's. Maybe should spearfish their tyres when found near our rivers...
IUCN Red List here
http://www.flyfish.kimvertise.co.za/...#IUCN_RED_LIST