Invasive fish first found in Lake Norman is spreading rapidly in NC, state says
Anglers often mistake Alabama bass for spotted and largemouth bass because they look similar, District Biologist Kin Hodges of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission said.
The invaders often out-compete and replace native largemouth bass, according to the commission. Alabama bass are smaller than largemouth bass on average, officials said.
Alabama bass also interbreed with smallmouth and spotted bass, according to the commission.
'They're being stocked and moved to new locations by anglers who need to understand the impact it's having to our native black bass family of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass,' Hodges said in a statement.
'Populations of largemouth bass are being dramatically reduced, while North Carolina could potentially lose smallmouth and spotted bass,' he said.
Alabama bass have been in North Carolina waters since the 1980s, 'but only sparsely,' according to a commission news release. They were first discovered in far southwestern Lake Chatuge and then Lake Norman.
Anglers are believed to have stocked them, and they've since spread to reservoirs and rivers. Now they're in coastal areas, including the Roanoke and Tar rivers, officials said.
'When we heard Alabama bass were being caught in reservoirs upstream of our coastal rivers in 2020, we anticipated we would start seeing them downstream,' Kevin Dockendorf, the state's coastal region fisheries research coordinator, said in the news release.
In October 2024, state fisheries biologists caught Alabama bass in the Roanoke and Tar rivers with boat electrofishing, Dockendorf said.
'This expansion of Alabama bass is of concern given the similarities of North Carolina's coastal rivers to the habitats found in Alabama bass's natural range,' he said.
Moving and stocking fish into public waters without a state permit is illegal.
That includes live well releases into waters different from where the fish were caught.
Commission officials urge anyone who sees or has information about illegal Alabama bass stockings to call 800-662-7137.
Anglers who catch Alabama bass in waterways not previously documented should take photographs and report their catch on the N.C. Wildlife Aquatic Nuisance Species Reporting Tool or by emailingPublicInquiry-FishWildlife@ncwildlife.gov
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