Application of the Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit (FISK) to Non-Native Freshwater Fish in Peninsular Florida

      Current introduced species risk analysis methodology requires considerable resources, effort, and time to assess a single non-native species and may not be the most cost effective risk management strategy for assessing large numbers of species.  In peninsular Florida where over 120 non-native freshwater fish species have been introduced and 34 are reproducing, there are multiple pathways containing hundreds of species with the potential for future introductions.  Therefore, there is a need for an inexpensive, easy to operate, and widely applicable screening tool to distinguish high and low risk species and identify the subset of introduced species where further analysis is warranted.  The Fish Invasiveness Scoring Kit (FISK) is a screening tool developed to assess the invasive risk potential of non-native freshwater fish species in the United Kingdom and is the approved screening mechanism within the European Union.  The FISK is a spreadsheet-based, semi-quantitative model that scores fish species based on the responses to 49 questions.  Categories include biogeography, biology, ecology, and presence/absence of “undesirable” traits.  The total score (ranging from -11 to 54) for the assessed species is placed into a risk category of low, medium, or high, which are determined by scoring thresholds for each risk category.  We are testing the accuracy of the current FISK questions and scoring thresholds in indentifying introduced fishes in peninsular Florida as "invasive" or "noninvasive."  The successful application of the FISK to Florida will result in a relatively quick, inexpensive methodology for distinguishing invasive freshwater fishes from those of low risk.  If incorporated into the initial phase of a risk assessment, the FISK will provide fisheries managers with necessary information to allocate resources for prevention and management of invasive fishes and may obviate the need for a full risk analysis in many cases.  The FISK has been successfully adapted for screening invertebrates and marine fish in Europe and our adaptation to Florida could serve as a basis for screening introduced fish in other U.S. states.