Species: Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
New
Bills to Confont Asian Carp Threat Introduced
in Congress (Apr 19, 2012) Great Lakes Coalition. Healing Our Waters.
Congress introduced new bills aimed at combating
the spread of Asian carp into the Great Lakes.
The legislation directs the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers to complete within 18 months
its study on how to separate the Great Lakes
and Mississippi watersheds to block the advance
of the non-native Asian carp. The voracious fish
are within miles of Lake Michigan. Scientists
fear that an Asian carp invasion into the Great
Lakes could devastate the region's $7 billion
sport and commercial fishery. The legislation
updates the Stop Asian Carp Act of 2011, which
was introduced last year. For more information
on the bills introduced, see Congressional
Bills - 112th Congress.
Bighead
Carp Added to Federal List of Injurious Wildlife (Mar
21, 2011) DOI.
Fish and Wildlife Service.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published
a final rule in the Mar 22 Federal
Register officially adding the bighead
carp to the federal injurious wildlife list. The final rule codifies the Asian
Carp Prevention and Control Act (S. 1421), signed into law by President Obama
on Dec 14, 2010. The injurious wildlife listing means that under the Lacey
Act it is illegal to import or to transport live bighead carp, including
viable eggs or hybrids of the species, across state lines, except by permit for
zoological, education, medical, or scientific purposes.
Means of Introduction:
Black carp was a "contaminant" in imported grass carp stocks; other
three species were imported for aquaculture and for phytoplankton control
(NAS Database
2011).
Impact:
Bighead carp: impacts not adequately known, but may "lead to
reductions in populations of native species that
rely on plankton for food, including all larval
fishes, some adult fishes, and native mussels";
Black carp: presumed
to "negatively impact native aquatic communities
by feeding on, and reducing, populations of native
mussels and snails, many of which are considered
endangered or threatened";
Grass carp: direct and indirect impacts via: competition for
food; significant changes in the composition
of macrophyte, phytoplankton, and invertebrate
communities; interference with the reproduction
of other fishes; decreases in refugia for other fishes; modification
of preferred habitat; predation or competition
when plant food is scarce. Has significantly
altered the food web and trophic structure of
aquatic systems by inducing changes in plant,
invertebrate, and fish communities;
Silver carp: has the potential to cause enormous damage
to native species because it feeds on plankton
required by larval fish and native mussels. Is
a potential competitor with adults of some native
fishes, for instance, gizzard shad, that also
rely on plankton for food (NAS Database
2011).
Federally Regulated: Listed
as injurious
wildlife under the Federal Lacey Act, which makes it illegal
in the U.S. to import, export,
or transport between States without a permit (DOI, Fish
and Wildlife Service)
Species Summaries: Bighead Carp and Blackhead Carp and Grass Carp and Silver Carp FishBase.org.
Taxonomy; Identification/Description; Illustration; Life Cycle; Habitat; Distribution; Dispersion
