Asian Carp emigrated to the lower regions of the Mississippi River in the 1970s and they originate from the freshwaters of China and Southeast Asia.
Asian Carp are typically around three feet long and can weigh up to one-hundred pounds when they are fully grown (some can grow even larger than that).
Asian Carp pose a considerable threat to the Great Lakes' aquatic ecosystem if they are able to establish a self-sustaining population there.
- "If the carp invade the Great Lakes, it will change them forever," says Jennifer Nalbone, director of invasive species and navigation for the NGO Great Lakes United.
The term "asian carp" refers to a group of related carp species ranging from big-head carp to silver carp. Asian carp, typically native to Southeast Asia, are foreign species that do not naturally belong in the freshwaters of both the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. This makes them an "invasive species" or a species of plant or animal that moves into a new environment, oftentimes greatly disrupting the already-established ecosystem in the new area.
Invasive species like Asian Carp are becoming more and more common due to international trade and climate change.
"Invasives take over the habitat that native species need to survive and persist," says Frank Lowenstein, director of the Nature Conservancy's (TNC) Forest Health program and an expert on invasive species. "Eventually invasives just start replacing natives."
In China and other parts of Southeast Asia, these carp have been cultivated for aquaculture for over one-thousand years; oftentimes they were raised in rice paddies.
Approximently four decades ago, catfish farmers of the United States imported these devious fishes to consume the algae in their ponds. Over time, these fish gradually escaped into the Mississippi River.
Asian Carp species are mega-eaters and they grow and breed rapidly.
Asian Carp are not predators but they do eat plankton, successfully knocking out the bottom layers of the aquatic food chain. This makes them particularly dangerous to the delicate ecosystem of the Great Lakes.
Silver carp are startled easily, and when startled, they jump from the water at great heights sometimes right into the passengers' laps of passing boats. Let's just say a slap from a 100 pound fish wouldn't feel too good.
Though certain measures have been taken against this "Asian Invasion" of the Great Lakes, such as an electric barrier, Asian Carp DNA has been found in Lake Michigan.
"We see the threat and potential impact of the Asian carp establishing themselves in the Great Lakes," says Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. "We believe we have the chance to work together to prevent economic and environmental damage before it occurs."
It is much easier to prevent an invasive species from entering a new territory than to eradicate them after the fact. Thus, the government has become involved in funding Asian Carp prevention methods.
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