Ecological Risk Screening Summary - Emerald Shiner (Notropis atherinoides)

Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Ecological Risk Screening Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.

Notropis atherinoides, Emerald Shiner, is a fish that is native to the St. Lawrence, Hudson River, Mackenzie River, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River basins in North America. This species is commonly found in clear water over sand and gravel sediments within lakes and medium to large rivers. Notropis atherinoides is commonly stocked as a forage fish species and sold commercially as bait. While this species has been introduced outside its range through stocking efforts and possibly bait bucket introductions in parts of the western United States, there is no information on impacts of the introduced populations. Therefore, the History of Invasiveness for Notropis atherinoides is classified as Data Deficient. The climate matching analysis for the contiguous United States indicates establishment concern for this species outside its native range. There were areas of high and medium match to the east and west of the species’ native range. The Certainty of Assessment for this ERSS is classified as Low due to lack of information on the impacts of introductions. The Overall Risk Assessment for Notropis atherinoides in the contiguous United States is Uncertain.