7837

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7837
• Author: Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force.
• Title: Report To Congress, Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations of the Intentional Introductions Policy Review.
• USFW Year: 1994.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

FINDINGS
This section describes some of the uses and eco-
nomic dependencies on nonindigenous aquatic
species, some of the risks associated with intro-
ductions of nonindigenous species, and examples
of existing State regulatory authorities and poli-
cies. However, this section does not take an
extensive look at any of these because there is a
burgeoning mass of literature on the subject of
introduced species and their use to which the
reader may turn for additional information (see
Rosenthal 1980, Courtenay and Stauffer 1984,
Devoe 1992, Rosenfield and Mann 1992, OTA
1993).
Although Congress recognized that there have
been beneficiaries from the use of nonindigenous
species, the focus of Section 1207 is "reducing
the risk of adverse consequences." For this rea-
son, while benefits are presented, the Intentional
Introductions Policy Review has concentrated on
developing recommendations intended to
address risk reduction rather than on highlight-
ingbeneficial uses.
CURRENT USES:
The financial and recreational benefits of the use
of some nonindigenous species are substantial.
The aquarium trade, for example, is a large and
complex business in the United States and non-
indigenous species are an integral part of that
trade. Hobbyists spend more than $2 billion a
year on purchase of aquarium fish and associated
products. Of this total, live fish purchases
account for more than $600 million (Marshall
Meyers, Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council,
pers. comm., 1994). The Florida Agricultural
Statistics Service (1992) reported that in Florida
in 1991, growers sold $7.1 million worth of tropi-
cal fish that had been imported for immediate
resale. This was in addition to nearly $33 million
in sales of tropical fish, many of them nonindige-
nous, that had been produced in Florida. Conniff
(1989) reported in an article in Smithsonian
magazine that 1 of every 11 homes in the United
States had aquaria. Conniff also noted that a sin-
gle firm may supply as many as 3000 different
items (items = breedlines of distinct color, size
or configuration). An interesting point raised at
the Valrico (FL) public meeting was that while
some retail facilities specialize solely in aquarium
supplies, many more are general pet stores for
which tropical fish sales may form a smaller yet
reliable source of revenue-i.e., factors that
affect the aquarium trade affect more than the
tropical fish business.
U.S. aquaculture production in 1990 is estimated
to have had a value of $761.5 million (Economic
Research Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, 1993). The industry serves both
domestic and export markets. This production
was based on the use of both native and non-
indigenous species. For example, channel catfish
(Ictalurus punctatus) one of the nation's leading
aquacultural products, is cultured primarily in
the lower Mississippi River drainage within its
native range but is also produced in and distrib-
uted to many places outside its native range (e.g.,
California). Similarly, while much of the rainbow
trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) production takes
place in the western United States within its
native range, commercial rainbow trout produc-
ers were located in 48 of the 50 States in 1987
(Parker 1989). For both of these species, some
fish are marketed as food and some as live fish
for stocking programs. Baitfish production is also
centered within the native range of its primary
species, several shiner and minnow species, but
"is the source of shipments to nearly all the 48
contiguous states" (Parker 1989). Tilapia and
carp (Cyprinus carpio) are not native anywhere in
the United States but are increasingly cultured
for food and for vegetation control. Much of
marine aquacultural production on the Pacific
Coast is based on the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea
gigas), a species originally imported from Japan
(Stickney, 1992).
Sport fishery management is another area of
considerable use of nonindigenous species. The
brown trout (Salmo trutta), for example, is native
to Europe and western Asia but has been widely
introduced across the United States and has
become a popular target of recreational fishing.
Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are not
native to the Great Lakes and are highly depen-
dent on hatchery production, yet they support a
"multi-billion dollar" fishery (Dan Thomas,
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