Quote Originally Posted by bullmerc View Post
Mass Introduction of Florida Bass Micropterus floridanus into Lake Biwa, Japan, Suggested by Recent Dramatic Genomic Change

Accession number;05A0637502Title;Mass Introduction of Florida Bass Micropterus floridanus into Lake Biwa, Japan, Suggested by Recent Dramatic Genomic ChangeAuthor;YOKOGAWA KOJI NAKAI KATSUKI(Lake Biwa Museum) FUJITA KENTAROU(Univ. Shiga Prefecture, Shiga, Jpn) Journal Title;Suisan Zoshoku
Journal Code:Y0285A
ISSN:0371-4217
VOL.53;NO.2;PAGE.145-155(2005) Figure&Table&Reference;FIG.4, TBL.4, REF.46Pub. Country;JapanLanguage;EnglishAbstract;The introduction of Florida bass Micropterus floridanus into Lake Biwa, where largemouth bass M. salmoides from North America had been propagating, was recognized. Isozymes of 194 individuals from four coastal localities in Lake Biwa from 2000 to 2003 were examined for comparison with former samples collected in the 1990s. M. salmoides and M. floridanus were genetically identified with the diagnostically polymorphic loci of AAT-1, IDHP-1, MDH-1, and SOD. Alleles symbolized M. floridanus frequently appeared at all of the loci among the individuals examined; in general, about half of the total had those alleles. All of the sample lots fitted the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for each polymorphic locus, and most of them showed an excess of heterozygotes. Based on the genotypes at the diagnostic loci, most individuals were identified as F2 hybrids, backcross or higher-generation offspring, indicating that the hybridization between M. salmoides and M. floridanus has already progressed considerably in Lake Biwa. Considering the predominance of M. salmoides in Lake Biwa in the 1990s, the present results indicate the possibility that mass introduction of M. floridanus was carried out on a large scale so as to greatly influence the genetic characteristics of the M. salmoides population.

So what? All that means is that FL strain and regular LMB have been hybridizing for about three generations, roughly 6-9 years at the time of the study.
No different then any other bass caught from the South East to Texas to California.

Besides, IFGA does not distinguish between M. salmoides and M. floridanus so its a moot point. The people in the area wanted bigger fish, just like the people who manage every lake in this country want bigger fish. Bigger fish = more fishermen = more money spent in local economy = more local jobs = more local taxes = more money in the pockets of the people that manage the body of water.