Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum

Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: dufflayer on April 08, 2015, 08:45:28 PM

Title: Sculpins
Post by: dufflayer on April 08, 2015, 08:45:28 PM

While Burbot fishing this winter our group got in to a debate about why Sculpins are considered a "species at risk".
I was wondering if anyone knows anything about their history and why they are protected now.

Thanks!

Title: Re: Sculpins
Post by: RalphH on April 08, 2015, 08:57:53 PM

which one(s)? There are 8 listed species of sculpin in freshwater.

Title: Re: Sculpins
Post by: dufflayer on April 08, 2015, 09:41:53 PM

This kind: http://imgur.com/xlKKzKv

Can't claim to know the first thing about Sculpin taxonomy. This one was inadvertently caught and released on Carp Lake. 

Title: Re: Sculpins
Post by: clarki on April 08, 2015, 11:42:45 PM

I'm no sculpin expert but your question intrigued me so I asked Mr Google. In 5 minutes, I quadrupled my sculpin knowledge. Who knew that there was a sculpin in Cultus lake that is also found in Lake Washington? There are many sculpin species at risk in BC, even one in alberta. At any rate, generally their greatest threat seems to be is habitat degradation.

For example: http://speciesatriskbc.ca/node/7835

Title: Re: Sculpins
Post by: dufflayer on April 09, 2015, 10:11:54 AM

So I suppose since Sculpin can bed in streams for up to two months, sediment load and water temperature can really alter their reproductive success. We were wondering why the legislations cover lakes as well. Not sure if it's an old wives' tale, but one member of our party suggested that at one point in time, Sculpins were over-fished and processed for oil. He was also the same guy that wanted to use them for set-line bait.

Title: Re: Sculpins
Post by: TimL on April 10, 2015, 04:17:03 PM

There are about 80+ species of sculpin along the west coast and most are marine. The few freshwater species that are at risk most likely have stringent habitat requirements and/or are confined to a small geographic area. With the exception of a few large (marine) species (e.g. Cabezon, Great Sculpin), they are mostly unimportant/unknown to sport and commercial fisheries...so I don't think fishing pressure is a main contributor to decline in sculpin populations.