Exotic Species -- Asian Carp

 Background

Asian carp are a significant threat to the Great Lakes because of their size, fecundity, and ability to consume large amounts of food. Asian carp can grow to 100 pounds and up to four feet. They are well-suited to the cold water climate of the Great Lakes region, which is similar to their native Eastern Hemisphere habitats. It is expected that they would compete for food with the valuable sport and commercial fish. If they entered the system, they would likely become a dominant species in the Great Lakes.

Two species of Asian carp-the silver and the bighead carps-escaped into the Mississippi River from southern aquaculture facilities in the early 1990s when the facilities were flooded. Steadily, the carp have made their way northward, becoming the most abundant species in some areas of the Mississippi, out-competing native fish, and causing severe hardship to the people who fish the river. The Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal connects the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes. Currently, the carp are in the canal and have been sighted approximately 40 miles from Lake Michigan.

  

Web Links

• Asian Carp Management
• Asian Carp Rapid Response, December, 2009
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Asian Carp Page
• Environmental Protection Agency: Asian Carp Page
• Wisconsin Sea Grant
• Mississippi Interstate Cooperative River Association
• Wisconsin DNR: Asian Carp Page
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Press Release

  

Photos

   For more photos see Google Images

download(127K) Photo credit: OMNR*	download(72.8K) Photo credit: OMNR*	download(919K) Photo credit: GLFC*
download(94.8K) Photo credit: GLFC*	download(217K) Photo credit: GLFC*	download(101K) Photo credit: GLFC*

download(721K) Photo credit:INHS*	download(583K) Photo credit:USFWS*	download(100K) Photo credit:TNWRA*	download(2.26M) Photo credit:GLFC*
* OMNR: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources * INHS:   Illinois Natural History Survey * USFWS: US Fish and Wildlife Service * TNWRA: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency * GLFC: Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Video

• Preventing a Hostile Takeover
   
• "Flying" Asian carp in the Mississippi River: Illinois Natural History Survey.  Silver carp are easily startled.  As this video shows, a passing motor is often enough to cause the skittish carp to leap out of the water.  There have been reports of boaters being injured by these "flying" carp. (The clip is about 3MB in size and requires real player. There is approximately 6 seconds of lead time before the clip begins.)
   

Photo: American Fisheries Society