Have your say on non-native species

jpegg

jpegg

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Hi!

I’m carrying out a survey looking at awareness and attitudes to non-native species. I’m particularly interested in Topmouth gudgeon as this is a species that my team has been studying for many years now, but we believe has received relatively little wider attention compared to other non-native invasive species, probably because it is a small grey fish rather than a more ‘charismatic’ invader. I suspect that anglers may be far better informed than the public at large, therefore am particularly keen to know your thoughts.

The questionnaire is short (less than 20 questions) and is available on-line until the 31st July at ATTITUDES TO NON-NATIVE SPECIES IN THE UK

The information gathered will be anonymous and the results of the survey will be published consequently, so the will be available should you be interested. We hope it can be used to better understand the communication of science to the public, particularly in the field of fisheries.

Thank you

Josie Pegg

Researcher

Bournemouth University
 
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jimmy crackedcorn

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Done. Never let it be said anglers are apathetic.

That said some of the questions were a bit vague.
 
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waggy

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First of all, Josie , I think you should define 'non-native'. Do you mean alien species that have been introduced solely by human agency, whether deliberately or accidentally; or do you also include any recently arrived species that may have arrived under it's own steam but which have relied on some change in human behaviour in order to do it successfully?

Sorry, I can't complete your survey. Qs 9 & 10 pose impossibly spurious dilemmas for objective thinkers and are therefore unanswerable. The ability to treat all spp equally in the choice boxes would solve that.
 
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Paul Boote

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Carp, pheasant, rainbow trout...

Oh hell, you really shouldn't have done that, Paul, for ridding our islands of such non-natives really could get a few folk a tad upset.

Where do you start, though?

Re-patriate the Anglo-Saxons...?
 
tortoise100

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Anybody tried them as dead/live bait do they die quick like bleak or live regardless like carp/tench types?

What should you do if you catch them ?
 
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Alan Tyler

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"'Non-native species' refers to an animal or plant introduced (i.e. by human action) outside its natural past or present distribution; that has ability to spread causing damage to the environment, the economy, our health and the way we live."
My italics.
Not all non native spp. have such an ability. I don't hear of campaigns to eradicate the Dutch Poplar, Swedish Whitebeam, or garden escapes such as Fox-and-Cubs.

So are you considering all non-native species?

Or just those introduced by man (so, not collared doves or inland-nesting cormorants)?

Or just those considered pests?

Or just those introduced by man AND considered pests?

I understand that you're looking at attitudes and awareness, but angling can be harmed by surveys that portray anglers as reactionary "Killits", and loading an emotive phrase into your definition is a dangerous start. We could end up being shown as anti-all-non-native-species rather than anti-some-non-native-pest-species.
 
jpegg

jpegg

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Dear All,

Firstly thanks for taking the time to look at the survey. And many thanks to those that have completed it.

Thanks for the feedback too. I'm aware that the notion of non-natives is a complex one, as rightly pointed out the flora and fauna of the UK is far from natural, and equally not all non-native are harmful. For purposes of simplicity in my study 'non-native' is used to mean 'non-native invasive' as defined in the introductory paragraph, which is the most common usage in the popular press, however I conceed that correctly the two are not the same, And apologise if this is unclear- thanks for flagging that up.

Should you come across a Topmouth Gudgeon. Please contact us at Bournemouth University, ideally with a photo. TopmouthGudgeon.co.uk
 
watatoad

watatoad

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Sorry I cannot fill your form in as I personally think there are several fundamental errors in the questionnaire.
 
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dezza

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Done.

As far as non-native species are concerned, enough is enough, and I shall continue to eat zander, and if I catch one, clonk and bury catfish.
 
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alan whittington

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Ive done that Josie,some questions are a little difficult to answer,in particular the single answer on species,as all are important to me,but in varying degrees and little to choose between them,hope its of some help,Alan.:)
 
jpegg

jpegg

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Many thanks to everyone that has completed my survey. Your time and opinion is very much appreciated. Thanks also for all the feedback.

In case anybody hasn't got round to it yet and would like to take part the survey is open until the end of this month (closed midnight 31st July).

I will be publishing the results of the survey later in the year and will post an update here so that anyone who has taken part or is interested can see the results.

Josie
 
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