I'm reading an article in Scientific American about the genetic response of smallmouth bass to electrofishing in Little Moose Lake in the Adirondacks in New York. A Liam Zarri studied SMB eradication work at Little Moose; his results are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. It appears that culling SMB in that lake using electrofishing has led to the population tending towards reproducing at younger ages and smaller sizes, thwarting the eradication attempts.
Maybe ewest will read and decipher for all the rest of us what has been written and published in the study. Fascinating example of unintended consequences.
There is a confusing reference to native lake trout in the SA magazine article. My guess is that is some sort of editing mistake.
The article says that the purpose of culling the smallmouth is to restore a healthy lake trout population. It says that Lake Moose used to be able to produce 35 lb trout but, since the invasion of smallmouth, they are stunted and have become uncatchable.
