Chapter 5 Threats
no reason other than that people are afraid of them. Bats, mice, and some birds are considered by some to be pests and removed from human structures. The killing or removal of voles and moles is widespread. Some of these activities may be illegal because the species is protected or the harvest does not follow seasons and bag limits. In aquatic systems, particularly freshwater ones, the overharvest of most species is not an issue, but localized poaching of species such as trout does occur. Overharvest is fairly common in marine fisheries due to the multiple gear types used, the combination of commercial and recreational fishing effort, and the multiple jurisdictions managing the fish or shellfish. Bycatch is common in marine fisheries because some harvest gear is nonselective. The bycatch may include undersized target fish, nontarget fish, and other organisms (e.g., sea turtles). The impacts of bycatch and overharvest can include reduced population size and altered population size or age structure. Catch and release of game fish or nontarget fish can cause injury or death of individual animals, but this typically does not rise to the point of affecting the population. Holding a caught fish in a live well and releasing it a long distance from the capture location, for instance at a weigh-in site, can cause local imbalances in fish densities and increase competition for food and habitat. 5.7.2 SGCN Priority Species The Taxa Team evaluation considered the level of threat biological resource use represents to SGCN priority species. Lists of the SGCN and other priority species this threat is expected to have a very high or high impact on can be found in Appendix 5, Table 5.7-1 Species at Risk of Impacts From Biological Resource Use.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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