Grass Carp In The Grand River
Photo from www.cbc.ca.
The threat of Asian Carp to the Great Lakes has been the topic of many discussions, conferences, studies and news articles. Whether or not the Asian carps have established a population in any of the Great Lakes is not known, but bighead and silver carp have been caught on occasion, and eDNA has identified the possibility they may already be in these lakes. Recently, an angler near Dunville, Ontario, hooked into an Asian carp, specifically a grass carp, in the Grand River, a Lake Erie tributary, and set off some warning bells.
A grass carp may not sound all that threatening, but they can have a devastating impact on the ecosystem. With their voracious appetites for aquatic plants, they reduce the amount of food available for other fish, as well as impacting potential spawning grounds and habitat. Grass carp can consume up to 40% of their body weight each day. One of the four species of Asian carps that are illegal to possess live in Ontario, grass carp present a danger that anglers, and everyone else, need to be aware of.
The particular fish that was caught along the Grand was confirmed to be sterile, so its potential damage was limited to what it could eat before it was caught. However, it raises the question, how did this fish get here? Did someone release it into the Grand River? If so, do they understand the potential consequences? Did it swim in from a different tributary? Are there more grass carp in the area? Many invasive species are released into the wild by people who do not understand the consequences.
Why should you worry? The establishment of Asian carp populations in the Great Lakes could decimate the sport fishing and recreational boating industries that bring in billions of dollars for the economy. These fish would out-compete the current populations of fish existing in these lakes, and make it nearly impossible for people to enjoy the benefits that are derived from a healthier ecosystem.
It is important for people to educate themselves about the dangers of invasive species such as the Asian carps. Anglers are especially important in the early warning of a potential invasion by these fish species. For those that enjoy fishing the Great Lakes and their tributaries, it is important to learn how to identify these fish, and to report any sightings immediately so prevention and monitoring systems be used to respond to the threat. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources has created a useful information sheet for the identification of Asian carp.
This lone grass carp does not mean that people should panic, but be aware that the threat is very real. As someone who gets a great deal of enjoyment out of fishing the Grand River, it worries me that even one of these fish were found in the river. This is a reminder to all of us to be vigilant and do our part to protect these fisheries.
To read the original news article from CBC click here.
For more about the Asian carp threat, read my summary from the public forum held in Toronto, Ontario last November.
argosgirl
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Asian carp are hands down, absolutely awful. I grew up in the Illinois River valley. It’s easy to find online the damage they’ve done there. The fishery in the area is basically dead except for these stupid fish. Last year, we drove back down by home to do some bowfishing for the suckers. They’re fun to shoot out of the air when they jump. One grass carp jumped into our boat, too. If these things get into the Great Lakes, there’s a chance they’ll have come through the Illinois, into the Chicago Sanitary Canal and into Lake Michigan in spite of electric barriers. DNR in Illinois encourages people to take as many out of the river as they please, and I’ve seen pictures of locals down in the Ottawa (IL) and LaSalle-Peru areas who shot 30 carp to a person. I can go on and on about these things.
Thank you so much for commenting! It’s hard for me to persuade people about how bad it will be if the Asian carp get into the Great Lakes, but hopefully reading what you wrote will make some people understand. The Great Lakes are such amazing fisheries and becoming healthier ecosystems all the time. Asian carp would just destroy them. Bowfishing for them appears to be the only positive thing anyone can say about them.
We plan to go down again this summer, and I have a couple pictures from last summer. If you’d like to borrow images, text, or video (when we get it), you are welcome to it. Just let me know.
That would be awesome! I’ll be in touch.