Monster flatheadss!!!(8/22/16)

Here's an excerpt from the NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife which describes in part the reason flatheads are considered invasive and dangerous to NJ waterways.

Predation: Large snakeheads and flatheads indiscriminately consume any fish species small enough to fit into their enormous mouths.

Wouldn't that description fit Muskies, Northern Pike, Large Mouth, Small Mouth, Hybrids, Pickerel and Walleyes? Basically any fish in all our waterways could be included in the dreaded "Invasive Species" category based on that reasoning. If the size mouth is the determining factor here than all large mouths should be retained and killed based on their predatory nature and increased risk to all other native and or state stocked fisheries.

Food for thought. I might be wrong but almost everything in life comes down to MONEY or in the case of fisheries management FUNDING. I've often wondered if flatheads and any fish considered invasive were dubbed this dubious distinction because they weren't introduced by the state themselves. I assume funds for NJDF&G are heavily generated from fishing and hunting licenses but I understand federal funding represents a significant percentage of the state's budget. Since flatheads aren't stocked by NJ and utilizes none of the Division's resources, is it possible their invasive status is a result of their non impact on federal funding more so than the supposed harm their size mouths can cause. Maybe just maybe the powers to be are concerned that the species breeds naturally and doesn't require on going stocking for their sustainability. Something I would consider a major positive is maybe viewed a negative by the agency tasked with that support. Is it possible this poses a threat to the Division itself and if these enormous mouthed trophies eat too many of the state stocked fish that NJ might sell less licenses or discontinue some stocking programs which might eat into the allocation of Federal Funds or the need for existing hatchery resources. In other words are flatheads a threat to the ecosystem or are they more a threat to NJDF&G because they don't require their involvement to be considered a sustainable fishery. So what do most political organizations do when there's a threat, they eliminate that threat! Just something to think about when any of us are challenged with the decision of releasing a trophy fish versus being model citizens abiding by regulations which might just be on the books for reasons other than stated.