Conferencia invitada en Simposio: Impacts and uses of exotic salmonids in Patagonia, from the pond to the ocean shelf.

PASCUAL, M.A.

San José, California, EEUU

Congreso; Annual Meeting Society for Conservation Biology; 2006

Exotic salmonids are widely distributed in lakes, rivers and oceans throughout Patagonia. They are top-predators, with far reaching effects on receiving communities. They also constitute highly prized food items and much appreciated trophy recreational fish. Salmonid populations, as well as related activities, span across boundaries, from private to public, from municipal to provincial, from national to international. In this presentation I use three examples of contrasting scale to illustrate some of the main problems and challenges posed by exotic species of commercial value in freshwater systems of Patagonia: trout aquaculture in shallow fishless lakes, trout recreational fisheries in lakes and rivers, and marine net pen salmon aquaculture. For each of these case studies, I analyze positive and negative impacts brought by exotic salmonids and discuss the prospects for finding win-win situations between use and conservation.