Conservationists remove invasive bass to save endangered fish
A team removed invasive bass from the Breekkrans River in South Africa to help endangered doring fiery redfin recover from extinction risks.
Martine Jordaan explained that spotted bass arrived in the late 1930s for angling purposes but now hunt small native fish. These predators target species that measure twelve centimeters or less in length throughout the local waterways.
The doring fiery redfin population was restricted to a two-kilometer stretch before the invasive bass eradication project began its work last year. Only a few hundred adults remained in this limited area of the Breekkrans River system near Cape Town.
The Freshwater Research Centre partners with Cape Nature and the Fynbos Fish Trust to lead the river restoration effort. Starting in 2023, crews have hunted the invasive fish every summer to stop them from re-entering the safe zone.
Jeremy Shelton said the habitat for the critically endangered fish expanded from two kilometers to ten kilometers after the removal. All native fish species showed increased range as a direct result of eliminating the predatory impact of the bass.