Believe it or not, there is a protocol that is followed in fish kill investigations.
In Nebraska the Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) monitors water quality. When a fish kill occurs NDEQ investigates to determine causes and potential violations. The Nebraska Game & Parks Commission involvement may be assistance in the investigation, but mostly we show up and count bodies, fish bodies. We will estimate the species, numbers and sizes of fish killed. Those estimates will be used in assessing damages.
So what is a fish worth? That is an excellent question. Of course you could see what the market value, what someone is willing to pay, would be for a 5-pound bass for example. But where are 5-pound bass being bought and sold? Are those live 5-pound bass that are being bought and sold?
There is a protocol that has been established by the American Fisheries Society for assessing monetary values and I believe that is one of the best estimates of the actual value of a fish. Those values are called replacement values--the cost of replacing a fish with another of equal size. If a 4-pound common carp was killed, what would be the cost of producing a 4-pound common carp to replace that fish? The replacement value of a 4-pound carp is listed by the American Fisheries Society at $0.39 per pound or $1.56 (those are 2003 figures, the most recent edition that I have in my office). For comparison, the replacement cost of a 10-inch catchable rainbow trout in the mountain/plains region (which includes Nebraska) would be $0.98; a 4-pound rainbow would have a replacement cost of $26.08.
Those are the values that are used in assessing damages. I think we would all agree that killing a bunch of fish due to some pollutant is not a natural phenomenon and society has determined that there will be fines and damages assessed in those instances. Are we going to replenish the river, replace, with common carp and other rough fish? Nope, probably not. As soon as the water can support those fish again, they will be on their way back (probably have started already), but there have been environmental damages done and this is the accepted protocol for placing a $$$$$ on those damages.
Now, since the topic has been brought up, this pointy-head is going to make another point.
What is a fish worth? Have you ever stopped to think about that? What are those fish worth that you catch? What is the worth of those fish you haul home in your pickup? I have a quote on one of my bulletin boards, "Fishing is worth any amount of effort and any amount of expense to people who love it, because in the end you get such a large number of dreams per fish."--Ian Frazier in
The Fish's Eye. Those of us who love to fish would agree with that statement, and would be hard-pressed to put a value on our fishing, what is it really worth to us? It is worth the world!
But follow along with this little exercise, let's use those replacement values to put some perspective on the fish we catch, the fish we harvest. How about whacking that 6-pound largemouth bass? In replacement costs that fish is worth $32.64. Or how about harvesting an 8-pound walleye?--$62.88. Or how about expecting to take a limit of 10-inch crappies home? 30 of them would add up to a replacement value of $63.00. So now, how good of a bargain is that $26.00 annual fishing permit? How many fish do you have to harvest before you realize your full $26.00 investment and then some? How many fish are you "entitled" to harvest?
I believe that is a useful exercise because it makes us stop and consider just how valuable those fish are. There is a real value that can be placed upon those fish, and I think realizing that develops a deeper appreciation for our fisheries resources.
Daryl Bauer
Lakes and Reservoirs Program Manager
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
daryl.bauer@ngpc.ne.gov
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