It almost slipped through the net for another six months, but in the end a determined environment minister won the battle over the largemouth bass, a voracious nonnative fish beloved of sports fishermen but considered a threat to the Japanese ecosystem.

Declaring herself ``dissatisfied'' with a committee's decision to wait six more months to settle the debate over the bass's fate, Environment Minister Yuriko Koike got the ministry to reverse course and list the fish as an invasive alien species.

The move clears the way for the fish's eradication from Japanese lakes.

As recently as Wednesday, experts preparing the Invasive Alien Species Act revealed they would deliberate six more months before making a final decision on whether to include the largemouth bass with its relatives, the smallmouth bass and the bluegill, on the list of hazardous animals.

That list will be revealed in full in June, when the Invasive Alien Species Act goes into force.

In the meantime, the largemouth bass will likely be slated for eradication at the comprehensive meeting on fish and mammals on Jan. 31.

The abrupt policy reversal obviously turned on comments made earlier Friday by Koike, who criticized the delay as favoring sportfishermen.

``Specialists should stick to their role, and simply act on their expertise,'' Koike said. ``The first step is to put (the largemouth bass) on the list.''

Koike urged the group to reconsider listing the fish, reminding them that ``the largemouth bass is, after all, considered the cornerstone of the Invasive Alien Species Act.''

Hiroshi Onodera, chief of the Nature Conservation Bureau, wasted no time in reacting.

At the senior specialists meeting held that afternoon, he announced, ``We must set to work, keeping in mind that (the black bass) will be registered, as the minister instructed.''

The response from committee members was mixed.

``The damage to the ecosystem is apparent,'' said one. ``Listing should take place immediately.''

Another declared that ``six months is actually a reasonable time frame to get anglers fully behind the new law.''

Three types of bass, including the smallmouth bass and the bluegill, made it onto the shortlist drawn up at Friday's meeting by fish specialists.

Yasuhiko Taki, professor emeritus at the Tokyo University of Fisheries and chair of the Friday session, will file a report noting that many called for inclusion of the largemouth bass.

``It was a difficult decision reached after considerable deliberation,'' said Onodera. ``Having said that, we do need to call for cooperation from sportfishermen. We will have to patiently go about cultivating their understanding.''

The ministry has long felt caught between sportfishermen and fisheries.

Fisheries, which maintain enough data has been collected to prove the bass are disrupting the ecosystem, had high hopes for a quick registration.

On the other side, the sportfishing camp has opposed any regulations, asserting there is a lack of evidence to support the claim that the fish, which is native to North America, is causing excessive damage or proliferating out of control.

Politicians also weighed in on the issue. A nonpartisan 47-member federation of Diet members supporting sportfishing told the committee that the largemouth bass is actually useful because it lures young anglers out into nature.

``We've been bombarded with all sorts of calls from lawmakers, from both sides-pro-regulation and anti-regulation,'' said one ministry official.

On Friday, the Japan Sportfishing Association, which has led the charge against regulating black bass, declared it wasn't giving up without a fight.

The group released a statement that read in part: ``It's a serious matter indeed if an environment minister can overturn a decision reached through deliberations of an expert committee. We will be filing a formal objection.''(IHT/Asahi: January 22,2005)