The number of sport fish in the upper Mississippi River has declined significantly over the past 20 years and a new study links the decline to an invasive species called Asian carp.
With the threat of the Asian carp entering Lake Michigan, the Michigan state legislature has allocated one million dollars for a prize for anyone who comes up with new ideas, or better yet, a sure-fire plan to get rid of the invasive and voracious fish.
Chicago -
A giant prehistoric fish once thought to be extinct could be the solution to the worsening invasion of non-native Asian carp that is choking U.S. rivers and crowding out local species.
"One man's trash is another man's treasure." And so it is with the Asian carp, considered a delicious fish in China, but an unwanted, invasive species in the United States. Soon, the much-maligned invaders may find themselves being sent back to China.
Invasive species control costs the economy of Ontario tens of millions of dollars annually. The impact these foreign invaders make on the ecology and the environment is often irreparable, if not irreversible. Ontario is doing something about the problem.
Asian carp were imported to the United States in the 1970's to control algae in aquaculture ponds. But much like the mongoose that was imported to the Hawaii islands to control rats, the carp proliferated and are now an invasive, nuisance species.
New York -
New evidence indicates that invasive Asian carp have bred in the Lake Erie basin. Scientists fear the impact that the carp will have on established ecosystems.
Chicago -
Despite an extensive search of the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal near Lake Michigan, no Asian carp were netted. Many warn this operation, and its failure to find an Asian carp, proves nothing.
An Asian carp has been found in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) just above the Lockport Lock and Dam. This is the first fish specimen to confirm what eDNA testing earlier this year suggested. Asian carp are in the CSSC.
Riding a wave of flood water, Asian carp are poised to make their final thrust past all barriers to reach Lake Michigan. Will government react in time to prevent this environmental disaster?
On the line of those big fish tales comes along a news story about a teen whose jaw got broken when a fish flew out of the water and hit him in the face. The Silver Asian Carp didn't fare so well; it pretty much exploded on impact.
Silver carp jumping out of the water after being startled.
Tennessee National Wildlife Federation
Map shows locations where Asian carp have been found in U.S. as of 2011.
USGF/NWF
PROBLEM-SOLVERS?: A group of alligator gars (atractosteus spatula) swim at the Steinhart Aquarium, part of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, in 2009.
BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons
Silver carp can jump as high as 8 to 10 feet out of the water when frightened or disturbed by boat motors.
Screen grab
Electrofishing for the Asian carp, an invasive species.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Electrofishing for the asian carp invasive species