Ahh, the serenity of fishing. Just make sure you ice that catch! Photo: Lindsey Jene Scalera.
Editor’s Note: It’s an Echo tradition to revisit one of our favorite holiday stories: Tim Campbell’s The Twelve Days of Aquatic Invasive Species Christmas.
Campbell rewrote the lyrics of the holiday tune for the Wisconsin Sea Grant in 2011. We’re publishing a new verse on each of the actual twelve days of Christmas.
On the fourth day of Christmas, a freighter sent to me…
Four perch on ice — Icing your catch is another way fishermen can help prevent the spread of invasive species. Many invasive species aren’t readily visible to the naked eye, including zebra and quagga mussel veligers, spiny and fishhook waterfleas, and viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS). Icing the day’s catch makes it so anglers won’t transport water and the organisms in it, while also improving table fare. That’s a win-win if I’ve ever heard one.
Three clean boat steps, two red swamp crayfish and a carp barrier in the city!