Asian Carp Research Paper

The “Big” Problem
In American waters, one can find an assortment of things. From seaweed, to rocks, to turtles, to fish, one might never know what they’re going to get. Now populating the ever so “full” American waters are Asian carp. It may seem like adding one more animal to the ever so populated water is no big deal, but these fish are something to worry about.
“Five species of Asian carp now call American waters home: common, grass, black, bighead, and silver. Although common carp have been around for nearly two centuries and grass carp since the 1960s, it is the high-flying silver and massive bighead that has made national headlines and captured the attention of everyone from third-generation fishermen to natural-resource managers to the …show more content…
Also, releasing live bait can allow young carp into unnatural waters and boats that are not drained can carry young carp or carp eggs which will be released into the water when it is next time used.
Carp eat multiple things, multiple times. One species, the Grass carp, can eat up to 40% of its body weight in plants every day. (Asian Carp Overview) Silver and bighead carp are filter-feeding fish and consume plant and animal plankton. Asian carp can grow to large sizes: some as large as 110 pounds, though the average size is around 30-40 pounds. Bighead and silver carp are voracious eaters, capable of eating 5-20 percent of their body weight each day. (Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee) They consume plankton—algae and other microscopic organisms—stripping the food web of the key source of food for small and big fish. Black carp differ in that they consume primarily mollusks, and threaten native mussel and sturgeon populations. They can grow to seven feet in length and over 100 …show more content…
They populate fast, leaving other native fish out of luck in the area. Carp have also been known to lower the water quality and totally conquer the waters that native fish are from. (Asian Carp Overview) Experts are worried the carp would affect the Great Lakes fishing industry by reducing the amount of native fish that are important to the fisherman there. “Asian carp will compete with native fish for food—native fish like ciscos, bloaters, and yellow perch, which in turn are fed upon by predator species including lake trout and walleye. The Great Lakes are home to federally and/or state listed threatened or endangered fish, mollusks, plants, mammals, insects, and reptiles. Other Great Lakes invasives have been implicated in adverse effects upon up to 46 percent of the local federally listed endangered plant and animal species. Introduction of Asian carp to the region could further harm these organisms and threaten their existence in the Great Lakes.” (Asian Carp Regional Coordinating

Show More

Related Documents: Asian Carp Research Paper

Asian Carp Research Paper