The Pittsfield-based Berkshire Environmental Action Team, or BEAT, calls its new effort “Stop Non-Native Fish Stocking.”
“Fish are obviously part of the entire food chain. They are fed on by birds and other wildlife like mammals, they also contribute to the aquatic ecosystem. They’re eating macro invertebrates, they’re interacting with zooplankton, phytoplankton, all of these things,” said Chelsey Simmons, BEAT’s stewardship director. “They’re also a big part of just the Berkshire culture. People love fishing, there are a lot of anglers, and we have a lot of cold-water streams and tributaries here in Berkshire County.”
As the campaign’s name says plainly, BEAT is calling on the government of Massachusetts to end its routine of introducing fish from other ecosystems into the Bay State’s environment…