Beyond Bucket Biology: Just Because It’s Legal, Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Harmful…

NATIVE FISH COALITION • August 29, 2025

Make no mistake about it; while warming water, droughts, floods, wildfires, development, pollution, and habitat degradation all threaten wild native fish, nonnative fish introductions are and likely always will be the number one threat. While bucket biology, anglers moving fish around, is a huge problem, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) moves nonnative fish around regularly and has for generations.  Although no one wants to talk about it, these legal actions have negatively impacted wild native fish in the same ways that illegal bucket biology has. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean that it is not harmful. This is especially true with regard to fish and game management, where conservation of the resource often takes a backseat to the desires of sportsmen. ~ Bob Mallard