The terms are more interesting than ever before, including in the field of sport fishing and fisheries management. What do the non-native and invasive species mean, what is the connection between them?
For independent fishing, members of fishing families need a special fishery exam in Slovenia, which demonstrates the basic knowledge in the field they are dealing with. Other fishermen search for information online or hear them from friends. Among fishing enthusiasts, novelties are rapidly being curtailed, especially in the age of the World Wide Web and social networks. Globalization and the reduction of barriers to movement are the main reasons for the emergence of important issues, among which in recent years, the terms are non-native and invasive appear. What do they mean and why are we talking about them?
Non-native species
It is an expression in biology that indicates those organisms brought by a man in a new environment where they were not previously present. It is the opposite of an indigenous species (including a subspecies and a lower taxon), “which lives in the area of its usual (past or present) natural distribution, even if occurring only occasionally. This also applies to areas that the species can achieve alone, either by walking, flying, by transferring by water or wind or by other means of dissemination “(Source: tujerodne-vrste.info).
The question of alienation arises when a person moves one organism into an area where it was not previously present due to travel and trade. In the new environment, its representatives can independently reproduce regularly, but this does not cause harm or limit the indigenous organisms. In this case, we are talking about a naturalized species.
Invasive species
The invasiveness criterion is governed by the definition of i.e. Convention on Biological Diversity. It is invasive or becomes the kind that “has stabilized, it is spreading and thus threatens ecosystems, habitats or species” (Source: tujerodne-vrste.info). As an example of widespread invasive organisms in Slovenia, sources refer to the donkey rhubarb, woundwort, slider turtle and tiger mosquitoes. According to the observations of fishermen, representatives of the bullhead catfish, panfish and in some areas even the rainbow trout may also be included.