Alewives Established In Champlain

MONTPELIER, VT-Fisheries biologists recently announced that the alewife,
a nuisance fish that's plagued the Great Lakes, appears to have
established itself in Lake Champlain.

Alewives are native to the Atlantic Ocean but can cause serious,
negative changes in freshwater ecosystems to which they're introduced.

Biologist say the alewives are likely to outcompete smelt, the dominant
Champlain forage fish, and the offspring of walleyes and yellow perch.
Alewives also prey on young perch and lake trout.
The invaders were discovered in Poultney's Lake St. Catherine in 1997.
In 2003, one or two alewives were found in Missisquoi Bay by Quebec
researchers, prompting Vermont to start a search of Lake Champlain.

Bernie Pientka, a state fisheries biologist, says researchers running a
fish-sampling program in the lake this summer caught three juveniles and
one adult alewife in the main lake and the northern section known as the
Inland Sea.

Since the discovery, biologists are asking anglers to take extreme care
to not accidentally spread the alewives - which can be mistaken for
baitfish - to other Vermont waters.