Operational Plan for the Restoration of Diadromous Fishes to the ...

Section 4 - Non-Native/Northern Pike
Comment: Several people suggested that the closest fish to compare Northern pike to
is chain pickerel rather than muskies, which are a riverine fish.
Response: Chain pickerel and northern pike have many life history similarities, however
one must be careful about using pickerel as a surrogate for northern pike. The chain
pickerel has a higher optimal temperature (prefer warmer water) than the northern pike,
which is clearly indicated by their more southern distributional range. A water body with
pickerel may not support northern pike at the same densities or even at all if it is too
warm. Adult northern pike are also known to be more flexible with foraging habitat,
since they are larger, have a larger relative gape size compared to chain pickerel and
can be found in deeper, less vegetated areas.
Comment: The non-native species focused too much on pike, but the other species
(such as large mouth bass) should be addressed more and would like to see them all
removed.
Response: The State of Maine has developed an advisory list of over 80 invasive
species that includes northern pike, however the state has not gone as far as to include
pike in a regulatory definition of an invasive species as it has done with certain aquatic
invasive plants. The state’s advisory list recommends selective control and
management for northern pike. This approach of selective control and management
has also been used for other species, such as smallmouth bass. For example, the
Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife manages smallmouth bass as a
fishery in many Maine lakes and ponds, however it also works to limit their introduction
through regulation, law enforcement and angler education. The Departments of Inland
Fisheries and Wildlife and Marine Resources are working on a MOU to identify species
that will be removed at Milford (see page 11). MDIFW maintains a list of waterbodies
with non-native species (table 5 and 6).
Table 5. Streams with non-native species
Stream Name LMB PKL SMB CMM BNT
Alamoosook Lake X
Alder Stream X
Babcock Brook X
Baskahegan Lake X
Baskahegan Stream X
Bear Brook X
Bear Brook-Little Pushaw Pond X
Black Stream X
Blackman Stream-Chemo Pond X X X
Crooked Brook X
Crossuntic Stream X
East Branch Seboeis Stream X
Ebhorse Stream X
Finn Brook X
Fish Stream X
Hoyt Brook X
PRFP Page 341