Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife announced this week a $6,000 reward for information on the illegal introduction of largemouth bass to West Musquash Lake in Washington County — a species that is not native to the state.
Last week, fisheries biologists with the department caught largemouth bass in West Musquash Lake, confirming the presence of the invasive species.
But biologists did not find the invasive fish in the surrounding waterways, meaning the largemouth bass were illegally introduced to the lake by humans.
Fisheries resource biologist Ashley Houle said West Musquash Lake is a pristine cold water fishery, and especially rare in that it has wild brook trout, wild lake trout, round whitefish and self-sustaining landlocked wild salmon.
"When you're dealing with cold water fisheries like West Musquash has especially wild, self-sustaining populations when you have an invasive species introduced like largemouth bass, it's a significant impact and extremely threatening to these populations," she said.
The largemouth bass are extremely predatory, Houle said. They will eat almost everything, taking food away from the native fish and eating the young fish of other species. Biologists found largemouth bass of varying ages, Houle said, suggesting the species has been there for over a year.
The Grand Lake Stream Guides Association and Operation Game Thief are offering a $6,000 reward for information on those responsible for introducing the largemouth bass.
Anyone with information call contact Operation Game Thief at 1-800-ALERT-US or online at www.maineogt.org.
