The Invasion of Asian Carp

This is probably not a war but just how we live. If only one person has a good idea and brings new species to any area there is always the unintended consequences.

For many years bison roamed many parts of North America and not just the plains, the last eastern bison was reportedly killed in 1825. The bison we see here are all in captivity and some are hybrid, mixed with cattle.

The horse disappeared from America during the Pleistocene period 12000 years ago and then was reintroduced by the conquistadors in the 16th century.

Our domestic cat was introduced to North America by explorers and other colonists from Europe. The cats were used on the ships to kill rats and protect the foodstuffs.

Black rats came to the New World around the 16th century and the now ever present Norway rat came with the colonists around the 18th century.

The bed bug found its way to this continent with the first Europeans that came as explorers and settlers.

The American Chestnut Tree was almost wiped out by a disease from non- native chestnut trees.

There are a variety of types of the fresh water fish that encompass what is called Asian carp. There are the silver carp, the bighead carp, the grass carp and the black carp. They are bred in Asia and eaten regularly. The common carp was the first to be bred and farmed in China. Then during the Tan dynasty, which was around the 7th to 10th century the Asian carp started to be farmed and continued to be studied and cultivated.

Asian carp were brought to the United States in the seventies by fish farms to help with the overgrowth of algae. Some escaped during floods in the eighties and nineties and were able to rapidly increase their numbers. Asian carp are voracious eaters and can eat 40% of their own weight in food daily. It is said they eat continuously.

Considered an aggressive fish they can grow very big, up to 40lbs. or more, so they win turf wars with other less aggressive fish. As filter feeders and omnivores they eat small animals,( zooplankton) vegetation, (phytoplankton) detritus and algae.Their method is to strain the plankton out of the water. Habitat can be changed for the worse. Other plankton eating fish like the gizzard shad, paddlefish and bigmouth buffalo will be with a diminished food source.

Asian countries and others use these fish as part of their diets and even farm them. They have not really caught on in the U.S. due in part to the small bones they have all through them. Because of this they live longer, grow bigger and the population just expands with no natural predators.

Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) is the type of Asian carp that is seen in videos and television leaping in great numbers out of the water causing issues with boating safety. This is why they are sometimes referred to as flying carp. When boats approach near them and disturb the waters they get frightened and jump out in an arc hitting whatever is nearby. They can leap 10 feet in the air. Doing any water recreation near silver carp can be dangerous. Boaters and water skiers have been hit, suffering injuries like busted noses and cracked ribs. Equipment has also been damaged from these fishy missiles.

These carp are very prolific, the female are known to spawn three times a summer while other fish spawn once a summer.

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The bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) can grow to 100lbs. and over five feet long. They do not leap out of the water like the similar silver carp fish. There growth is faster than the silver carp and they can spawn many thousands of eggs a year. Even though bighead carp are fresh water fish they can tolerate some salt water and almost freezing temperature. They can be found in rivers, streams, lakes and ponds which is the problem.