Worldwide Invasions of Centrarchidae: The Dark Side of the Sunfish Family

ABSTRACT Freshwater fish invasions are major drivers of global ecological change, disrupting native biodiversity and ecosystem functions. However, many invasive fish hold significant socioeconomic value, resulting in conflict over their management. Centrarchidae, which are globally distributed and are important for sportfishing and aquaculture, are now potentially becoming a global threat. Yet, no comprehensive appraisal exists across taxa and regions integrating taxonomy, pathways, impacts and risk analysis for Centrarchidae. To address these gaps, we compiled published literature and leveraged publicly available databases to critically evaluate the current global status of non‐native Centrarchidae, finding 30 species established outside their native ranges with 17 being outside of North America. Largemouth bass ( Micropterus nigricans ) and pumpkinseed ( Lepomis gibbosus ) are the most widely introduced centrarchids. Reported impacts of Centrarchidae introduction are mostly ecological, with predation, competition, hybridisation, and disease transmission as major mechanisms. Conversely, socio‐economic and cultural effects are underreported. Currently, only ten species have undergone rapid risk screening, with 90% flagged as high risk. However, risk analyses remain sparse, confounded by taxonomic uncertainties (including hybridisation) and context dependence of impacts. With the changing climate and other anthropogenic disturbances in freshwaters, habitat suitability is expanding for centrarchids. Although concerning, Centrarchidae form a highly human‐mediated invasion complex with predictable pathways and tractable leverage points, so limiting propagule pressure and standardizing assessments can curb their future spread while informing balanced and evidence‐based fisheries policy that reconciles socioeconomic benefits with environmental costs.

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Publication Details

Journal
Fish and Fisheries
Published
2026-04-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.70083
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
22.48

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article

Worldwide Invasions of Centrarchidae: The Dark Side of the Sunfish Family

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1 citations
Fish and Fisheries
Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
22.48
article

Worldwide Invasions of Centrarchidae: The Dark Side of the Sunfish Family

Julian D. Olden, Irmak Kurtul, Stelios Katsanevakis, Antonín Kouba, Darragh J. Woodford, J. Robert Britton, Ali Serhan Tarkan, Ismael Soto, John S. Hargrove, Teun Everts, Ana Clara Sampaio Franco, Phillip Joschka Haubrock, Cüneyt KAYA, Jelger Herder, Athanasios Nikolaou, Jonathan Tibo, Ronaldo Sousa, Neil Angelo Abreo, Emili García‐Berthou
article en
1 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Freshwater fish invasions are major drivers of global ecological change, disrupting native biodiversity and ecosystem functions. However, many invasive fish hold significant socioeconomic value, resulting in conflict over their management. Centrarchidae, which are globally distributed and are important for sportfishing and aquaculture, are now potentially becoming a global threat. Yet, no comprehensive appraisal exists across taxa and regions integrating taxonomy, pathways, impacts and risk analysis for Centrarchidae. To address these gaps, we compiled published literature and leveraged publicly available databases to critically evaluate the current global status of non‐native Centrarchidae, finding 30 species established outside their native ranges with 17 being outside of North America. Largemouth bass ( Micropterus nigricans ) and pumpkinseed ( Lepomis gibbosus ) are the most widely introduced centrarchids. Reported impacts of Centrarchidae introduction are mostly ecological, with predation, competition, hybridisation, and disease transmission as major mechanisms. Conversely, socio‐economic and cultural effects are underreported. Currently, only ten species have undergone rapid risk screening, with 90% flagged as high risk. However, risk analyses remain sparse, confounded by taxonomic uncertainties (including hybridisation) and context dependence of impacts. With the changing climate and other anthropogenic disturbances in freshwaters, habitat suitability is expanding for centrarchids. Although concerning, Centrarchidae form a highly human‐mediated invasion complex with predictable pathways and tractable leverage points, so limiting propagule pressure and standardizing assessments can curb their future spread while informing balanced and evidence‐based fisheries policy that reconciles socioeconomic benefits with environmental costs.

Fish and Fisheries
Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University (TR), University of the Witwatersrand (ZA), University of Washington (US), Research Institute for Nature and Forest (BE), Universitat de Girona (ES), Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (US), Malayan Colleges Laguna (PH), University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (CZ), University of Łódź (PL), Ege University (TR), South Bohemia research center of aquaculture and biodiversity of hydrocenoses (CZ), Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (PT), Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (US), South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (ZA), Muğla University (TR), Bournemouth University (GB), University of the Aegean (GR), KU Leuven (BE)
Foundation for Science and Technology
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
22.48
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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