Something to note… The Freshwater Fishing Regulations for the State of New York state the following:
No aquatic insect(or insect that lives in the water during any of its life stages) shall be taken from waters inhabited by trout, or from the banks of those waters at any time.
It would also seem that this regulation implies that you are breaking the law if you captured one to take home to your tying bench. :!:
Several months ago there was some discussion pertaining to that subject on one of the posts. If my memory serves me correctly, you are correct in your presumption. I am not from New York so I can’t speak with certainty, however I know someone with the correct knowledge will let us know the answer.
There is a good reason not to transplant anything from one river to another, you do not know what else is in the water, you could very easily be transporting Didymo or any other pest between waterways.
In the last year or two Didymo has destroyed or at the least badly affected 22 rivers in the South Island of New Zealand and it is only a matter of time before it spreads to the North Island. It can be spread in a single drop of water and while most anglers are aware of the danger and will clean there gear between trips most trampers will not and they may well cross more than one river in a single days tramping.
All the best.
Mike.
Anyone who transplants anything from one location to another is running a huge risk. Ever hear of the Law of Unintended Consequences? If not, look it up.
Yes, it has been done successfully in some places. And it has wreaked havoc in others. Think European starlings… Kudzu… whirling disease… mud snails… “Bucket biologists” are the bane of most fish and game department’s managment.
PLEASE consult a professional biologist and your state’s regulatory agencies before doing something like this.
Dennis
Given a body of water…will it eventually have the ecosystem that it can support…[however that happens]…or could an introduction by man optimize the system?
Ducksterman,
It will eventually have the ecosystem it can support, but once people start interfering it can greatly affect the outcome. For instance, take a river with prolific stone, caddis, and mayfly hatches, and a nice healthy population of cutthroat, sculpin, and lamprey (species chosen for fellow Oregonian). Add something like modsnails and hatches decrease and the effects cascade up and down the foodchain. Another thing that could happen is that the insect that we introduce is a temporary host for some parasite that will infect the fish (whirling disease works this way).
Probably more than you wanted to know…
Adam
That’s right, it is illegal to collect macroinvertebrates without a permit in NY.
That reminds me, I need to renew mine! I did a small research project on the benthic organizms of ponds fand I will be working with students on a macroinvertebrate project next fall.
Last I knew the “liscense to collect” permit was still $10 and a bunch of paperwork.
Ed
“No aquatic insect(or insect that lives in the water during any of its life stages) shall be taken from waters inhabited by trout, or from the banks of those waters at any time.”
Wow, that seems a bit excessive. I’ve got several friends who collect insects in specimen bottles (filled with alcohol) to take home in order to tie better fly imitations. (Note: none of them live in NY)
It is being tried in Utah. Pteronarcys californica (stoneflies)nymphs are being transported from one river where they still occur to a river a few mountain passes over where they historically were found but not found presently. I’m pretty sure this was done with permission from the biologists in the area.
I can’t add anything entomological about this but my gut feeling is DON’T. Man has such a good record of messing things up when we try and improve on nature.
Enjoy what you have as you have it. If that is not good enough, look somewhere else.
jed
Spot on Jed, thank you.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
So what I hear you saying is that we should not be involved in restoring native insects to their historic ranges? Do you feel the same about trout?
Man is part of nature. Man is not larger than nature, nor smaller than nature, but very much a part of nature. If we have the ability to restore a species to it’s historic environment should we?
One might first honestly answer, why is it gone now?
I am a firm believer in native species over introduced species. To the extent that if I could get away with it the brown and rainbow trout would go in the bushes here. But with insects, do you really know that it was a native? Most species leave lots of records behind when they vanish. Trapping reports, museum specimens, photographs… And by “native” I mean that it occurred in that particular part of that particular stream, not just somewhere in the state. And is it just the big, flyfisher-friendly bugs like Pteronarcys that should be reintroduced, or is it ALL the insects, including the obnoxious ones? A lot of questions should be asked before taking a step like a species (re)introduction. And all the questions should be answered.
You shouldn’t, in my opinion, just put in the things that make your life better. If you are going to restore a native ecosystem, take out the exotics and put back in what used to be there before we messed it all up. If you are just going to add a bug so you get a hatch to fish… shame on you.