Invasive Green Sunfish confirmed in New Hampshire Waters
Eugene L. 05.30.23
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHFG) fisheries biologists have confirmed that non-native, invasive green sunfish are now present in the following bodies of water. The Piscataqoug River downstream from the Weare Reservoir, also known as Horace Lake, and Waukewan Lake. Back in 2022, biologists with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services discovered three invasive green sunfish in the Little Sugar River in Charlestown, NH. While they are native to a good portion of the United States, invasive green sunfish are a concern due to their ability to out-compete New Hampshire’s native species of sunfish for food and habitat resources.
The green sunfish is a member of the Centrarchidae family, sunfishes and freshwater bass. Just the same as many of the native species largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, bluegill, redbreast sunfish, and pumpkinseed to name a few. You can find green sunfish in a wide variety of lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams throughout the United States. They are also capable of tolerating a wide range of environmental conditions. This adaptability has let the green sunfish easily spread and survive outside their native range of the central United States east of the Rocky Mountains, including the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River basin. Along with that, they have a large mouth that enables them to have more predatory behavior and be able to consume a wider variety of prey compared to that of the native pumpkinseed or redbreast sunfish. This advantage allows them to outcompete native species and has led to the sunfish spreading to all lower 48 contiguous states.
While considered only a gamefish/panfish for many green sunfish are also popular aquarium fish often kept by home aquarists. This is likely how they made their way into New Hampshire waters. Please help protect native species in New Hampshire and anywhere else by not releasing your pets into the wild. That’s illegal and can introduce invasive species and pathogens to our waterways. If you suspect to have caught a green sunfish in New Hampshire, please do not release it. Humanely dispatch the fish, and preserve the colorations and identifying characteristics. Take a clear photo of the fish, record where you caught it, and email your findings to fisheries@wildlife.nh.gov.
