Striped bass found in southern Labrador, anglers asked to release any fish caught

Striped bass that are turning up in Labrador have locals and researchers perplexed, but a biologist says it's too early to start calling them an invasive species.

People have been posting on social media andcontacting the NunatuKavutnatural resources office in recent weeks with reports of having caught striped bass a species not usually found north of the lower St. Lawrence River.

Not a few isolated fish

The basshave been found in rivers and ponds in Forteau, L'Anse au Clair and L'Anse au Loup, which has raised some concern that the fishcould have a negative impact on the area's cherished salmon populations.

"We don't want to overreact here, but we definitely haven't hadstriped bass in our ecosystem," said Trish Nash, a biologist with NunatuKavut.

"It's really perplexing. Why are they here? Whether they're chasing food, we really don't know."

Nash said the reportsare not isolated incidents, with thousands of bass being observed moving northward throughsouthern Labrador.

She said researchers have taken tissue and digestive samples from some of the fish to try to determine where they came from and what the fish are eating. That data should be available in the coming weeks.

Based on previous research done by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, she said, she doesn't think thebass pose an immediate risk to salmon.

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"There was a study done in DFO over three years and less than two per cent of the striped bass diet was salmon," Nash said."So I don't think we really want to get overly concerned this time."

Officials at the NanatuKavut office are not calling the bass an invasive species yet, as this summer could be an anomaly and it'snot a species that has thrived in other parts of Canada where salmon also exist.

In the meantime, Nash said she and others areasking anglers not to eat any striped bass they catchand to notify the natural resources office so they can keep track of them.

"If you catch one, you need to release it," she said. "But we want to know if you're catching them."