"The Eurasian Ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus) or simply Ruffe is a freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. It has been introduced into the Great Lakes of North America, reportedly with unfortunate results."
"The ruffe's colors and markings are similar to those of the walleye, an olive-brown to golden-brown color on its back, paler on the sides with yellowish white undersides. The ruffe is usually 4-6 inches (10 – 25 cm) in length and will never exceed 10 inches, but is a very aggressive fish for its size. The ruffe also has a large, spiny dorsal fin likely distasteful to its predators. It also has two fins on top, the front fin has hard and sharp spines, the back fin has soft spines called rays. The most obvious features to recognize a ruffe are the ruffe's large, continuous dorsal fin and its slightly downturned mouth."
"The ruffe has the capacity to reproduce at an extremely high rate. A Ruffe usually matures in two to three years, but a ruffe that lives in warmer waters has the ability to reproduce in the first year of life. A single female has the potential to lay from 130,000 to 200,000 eggs annually. Ruffe will leave the deep dark water where they prefer and journey to warmer shallow water for spawning. The primary spawning season for the ruffe occurs from the middle of April through approximately June."
"The introduction of the ruffe seems to be causing much damage and has become a big inconvenience to Lake Superior. /.../This pesky fish's invasion on the lake has not only caused problems with space, but problems with food supply to other fish as well. If there is no intervention taken by the public the ruffe have the potential to ruin Lake Superior."
"Not only has the ruffe become an inconvenience but, it is also the first invasive species to have been labeled a nuisance by the Non-indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Program. Along with it being the most populated fish in the St. Louis river basin it has disrupted ecosystems all across the Great Lakes."
"Ever since the ruffe was introduced into the Great Lakes system, scientists and fishery managers have been searching for the right way to get rid of them. In the beginning, the main method of control was to increase the Walleye and Northern Pike populations because they are natural predators of the ruffe."
"Other methods that have been considered are poison and chemical control. If a large school of ruffe is found, they can be poisoned. If some of them survive, however, the problem will only continue. Chemicals, on the other hand, can be specifically made to only harm a certain kind of fish. The chemical lampricide TFM kills ruffe, but leaves other fish untouched."
"Finally, the scientists found that it is resilient to freezing."
Now, what has all this got to do with us? Well, over here there is a saying about someone being a "vastarannan kiiski" (literally; a ruffe on the opposite shore). This term is applied to someone who unfailingly opposes other people's ideas and opinions. An easier analogy would be a fish that swims against the stream, or the other way than all other fucking fish. Or something.
End of lesson. WK wishes you a happy new year.
