Asian Carp

[thudpucker]

NatGeo:
Asian carp, Big head and Silver are multiplying faster than the native species.

They are less than 40 miles from the Great lakes. The fish Bio's say there is nothing that will stop them from invading the whole Canadian water system and the rest of the Great Lakes.

In one good river in Michigan they are really out of hand. Seems to be good feed up that way.
The Mississippi is getting a lot in some places, but the Mighty Muddy MO is not.
The Fish Bio's did some measurements to verify that.

Making them jump into your boat is no trick. Just make some noise.
A group of Bass fishermen have a contest to get the most Carp. They got 11,000 Lb's one of them said.

The problem of too many for the U.S. Rivers and eventually the whole Canadian system as well can easily be solved. I think this will do it.Hands Clapping


Turn the Animal food processors loose on em'!
They'll organize the Gill Netters and have the 'sorters' (like they do in AK) throw back any native species.

Put out a no-limit-no-license needed statment about the two Carp species Any method is OK as long as you take the Asian Carp species.
The Show pointed out the good texture and eatablility of them.
Yum.....let's eat them before they get all our Native fish!

A little People involvment and it wont take long to bring the Carp species down to 'handlin' size,

[SEMOmike]

Agreed, why are they regulating the taking of these? The commercial netters in IL need a special permit to take them. I think some guys in IL are turning them into fertilizer, I also heard some company is canning them and selling them as premium cat food. Parts of the Mississippi River around here are so ate up with them you can't even hardly run the boat.

[thudpucker]

IL is broke and some Dilbert Legislator probably brought that license Idea to help with the Deficite.
The Carp are going to cause a heckuva lot more damage, and more money than they'll ever make off those licenses.
Wait till the Resident fishing license revenue dries up because there are no more Bass and Crappie.

[Hanr3]

Im not so sure the Carp are a bad thing. Everybody thought the Zebra muscles was bad too, however they helped clean up teh waters. I have heard that Asian Carp are really helping increase the native fish species, their young make great food for Bass, Walleye, Crappie, etc.

I see where they are considering changing the name to something that is more appealing so people will eat them. They did that with Patagonian toothfish into the ever-more-palatable Chilean sea bass.

[crappiedoc]

I saw the show also, and yes they are in the Missouri and Ks rivers, they are eating and breeding themselves as well as some native species into an emaciated state. There are millions below the dam at Clinton Res in Lawrence, Ks which is as far as they have gotten here. We are just one flood from them inundating our state too! I'm not sure which state In or Il made the deal with the Chinese, but charging comm fisherman or any angler is absurd. That show also stated that they believe those carp are mutants because they don't jump in China. They were originally imported into the USA to control algal concentrations in sewage lagoons and the Flood of 93 freed them and the takeover started. Ironically, most if not all carp and buffaloe species are imported. The US gov 'stocked' them in the 1800's as a food source for the pioneers and immigrants. Seems governments don't learn from history, huh. Another interesting point is that the USGS is more involved in their study and control than the USFWS, what's that all about? Our gov has built electric fences across some rivers to stop some of our invasive species and now they're reporting their inability to enforce or stop the encroachment. Maybe they'll hybridize pelicans or seagulls next,another waste of taxpayer money. But, it does create jobs, what a joke. Honestly, sportsman need to band together, parties aside, and elect some true, educated and motivated people with a no BS approach to control the problem. All IMHO which I have plenty of.

[south point]

I agree with all that was said here but, the missouri river does have em, too. and they are taking over. I live in washington, mo, and I bowfish the missouri 3 times a week and most of what I shoot is asians. (silver carp, actually, I don't see too many bighead.) I find em in creeks and behind wingdikes in huge schools. schools so thick sometimes I shoot 2 carp in one shot.
I also like to catfish the river, so I am forever looking for bait by throwing a castnet. I used to catch more shad and mooneye than carp in my net, now it is by far the opposite. in the local creeks, baby silver carp are everywhere you look. literally. it is scary but the up-side is that the local catfish are getting bigger, quicker, by gorging on small silver carp.
I, too, think they should allow commercial fishing for 'em or some way to help control the numbers. heck, put a bounty on 'em so I can quit fixing cars and bowfish for a living!

[thudpucker]

They said the MO had the Carp but they were smaller and dont seem to grow over a certain size.

I believe we should clean them out while we still have some Rivers left.

[M R Dux]

Several guys who frequent here shoot them below Barkley and KY Dams near here, At times they are so thick that the bowfishermen pass on the 20-40 pounders to target the 40+ pounders. Lots of them are shot that can't even be boated. I'm not talking about shooting them at night under lights, this is in broad daylight. One loud noise below Barkley Dam will cause dozens of them to start jumping. It's a funny sight for a time or two until one realizes what a threat they are to the rivers and lakes.

[Bronson]

I spoke with a wildlife biologist last year who said they thought they were getting ready to throw a lot of money at the problem but in their opinion it would not work. They said, just like in everything else, Mother Nature would take care of it.

The problem with waiting till they become so overpopulated they crash is it could wreck the whole egosystem causing it to take many years or decades to overcome. Being planton feeders, they eat a lot of food the baitfish need to fluorish.

I'm sure some species benefit temporarily but I think they will suffer long term too. There are some places where it is already not safe because of jumping fish but once they takeover, it could become a real safety issue everywhere. The lakes and rivers will no longer be suitable for sportsmen and recreational boaters. With no one using these resources many dollars will be lost. Unlike years ago, now when a sportsmen gives up hunting and fishing, there aren't as many willing to take their place.

I do not see the demand for commercial fishing for them being able to make enough impact. Whatever they do will have to be able to repeat itself and keep nubmers down or they will be right back where they were before. I hope this problem gets worked out like some of the threats we've had in the past but this one looks like it will get a lot worse before it gets better.

[Hanr3]

OK, look, I live on the Illinois river. We have Asian Carp, boat loads of them. Several shows have been shot on the Illinois River about the Carp. They have not affected the fishing on the river. I talk to guys all the time who regularly fish teh river, only thing they worry about is one jumping into the boat. I have heard rumors that there are a few commerical operations harvesting the Carp to sell as food. Who is buying the food is unclear, economically challenged and some say the Chinese thorugh out the US. Like China-town in Chicago, and pet food producers.

As with all changes people tend to think tehy are bad and over react before they have the facts. At one time people believed the world was flat and that you would fall off if you traveled too far. Still have people who belive ethanol is a bad thing. The only thing bad about ethanol is if your fuel system doesnt have gaskets/hoses/seals designed to handle it. What doesn't help is "news" media reports what people want to hear, so tehy watch their news show. It only feeds the propaganda called a lie.