Collecting in CA (was Re: [Killietalk] help-Fundulus parvipinnis)

[Wright Huntley <whuntley at verizon_net>]

*"Joseph S." <nonamethefish at gmail_com> wrote:*

> Wright: from the looks of it you should know a bit on the collecting
> regulations in CA? I hear tell that a "scientific collecting permit"
> is required to take fish for aquarium use.

Joseph,

Basically, the situation is that careless fishermen have contaminated so 
many native waters with bait "exotics" like goldfish, that the law was 
finally made firm that no bait minnows can be moved from one body of 
water to another and no store-bought fish (except from a licensed bait 
shop) may be used.. There are many legal ways to catch bait fish, but 
you must use them only in the waters where captured.

[Meanwhile, many CA counties still distribute free "mosquitofish" 
(Damnbusia) that can be dumped in any body of water. Damnbusia are quite 
notorious for creating extinctions of native egg-laying fish adapted to 
a narrow environmental niche!]

Guess what? The local game warden can't tell that we are serious 
students of piscatory renal function (i.e., compulsive water changers) 
so we get tarred with the same brush and are mistaken for those 
distributors of exotic destroyers of the habitats of our "native" fish, 
like brown trout. :-) [The enormous damage caused by casual aquarists 
who dump their tropical fish into the local creek doesn't help one bit, 
either.]

The permits are, as I'm told by CA F&G, rarely issued, and then only to 
major universities, museums or scientific research centers. I'm tempted 
to test that, as I feel the close observation in aquarium conditions can 
offer opportunity to contribute to better understanding of the 
developmental and reproductive needs of certain threatened or endangered 
desert species. Unfortunately, the bureaucrats have had it with 
hobbyists who promise to produce useful results and are then never heard 
from, again. We, through useful programs like KCC and ESP, need to 
convince them that the study of dead fish in Formalin, or the 
statistical manipulations of huge numbers by the fisheries biologist, 
are not the only source of understanding of the fishes. Personal 
observations of behaviour, needs, and breeding by experienced hobbyists 
can add to our knowledge base, too.

Basically, no bureaucrat, no matter how well-meaning, dares issue a 
permit if he knows he will have to face his boss next year and admit he 
doesn't know what happened to the fish collected. That is particularly 
true if it made no contribution to next year's budget and shows no 
promise for future funding of the office. My suggestion is that you get 
to know the local individuals in your Fish and Game office, and 
volunteer to do any kind of scut work that will be useful to them. After 
they have gotten to know you as a responsible person, who will do as he 
says, they may let you help them with some local fishy situation that 
might otherwise be neglected. As you get to understand their motivations 
and needs, it may happen that they will be willing to seriously evaluate 
yours.

CA is about the worst state for tolerating fish hobbyists, but even with 
many years of work for the NV Fish and Wildlife folks by Desert Springs 
Action Committee, they are most reluctant to issue permits for study of 
White River Valley Springfish, because some hobbyists have stiffed them 
and never returned any reports in the past. That was reinforced, when 
they caught other hobbyists scuba-diving in Devil's Hole, poaching 
*Cypr. diabolis* from the tiny population of only a few hundred that 
live there.

The late Al Castro made huge strides when he worked through the CA 
Academy of Sciences and Steinhart Aquarium. It was Al who showed that 
*diabolis* would only reproduce, readily, in huge aquaria, despite the 
small size of the fish and of their tiny natural habitat. Pupfish social 
behaviour apparently makes them need better isolation for "nesting" than 
other killies. OTOH, few know that *Crenichthys* will readily breed in 
our small killy tanks, and that they are as spectacular as any Rainbow 
with their flashing gold chromatophors during breeding time. We have a 
long way to go to get legal permission to learn such things, I fear. 
Even farther to go to enjoy some of our loveliest native fishes in our 
aquaria.

Incentives work. Hobbyists are motivated by sharing new knowledge and 
their fish with good friends. Bureaucrats (at the administrative level, 
who issue permits) are busy placating the fishermen, building empires 
and defending turf. It's a pity that folks as smart as we are haven't 
done a better job of bringing those diverse needs into better alignment. 
We, as hobbyists, are the big losers.

Wright

--
Wright Huntley - Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514 - whuntley at verizon_net
                     760 872-3995

Samuel Adams advised: "It does not take a majority to prevail...but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."
                       

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