Certified Minority Business Enterprise
Certified Minority Business Enterprise
There are many species of Asian carp. Bighead and silver carp are considered invasive species and a threat to the Great Lakes for instance. The fish are known for their immense size and appetite. Asian carp can consume up to 20 percent of their bodyweight each day in plankton. Bighead carp, native to southern and central China, can weig
There are many species of Asian carp. Bighead and silver carp are considered invasive species and a threat to the Great Lakes for instance. The fish are known for their immense size and appetite. Asian carp can consume up to 20 percent of their bodyweight each day in plankton. Bighead carp, native to southern and central China, can weigh up to 110 pounds. Silver carp can weigh up to 60 pounds are native to waters in far eastern Russia and eastern China. Silver carp, in particular, have become notorious for being easily frightened by boats and personal watercraft, which causes them to leap high out of the water. The fish, which can grow to 45 kg (99 lb) in mass,[4] are capable of jumping up to 2.5–3 m (8 ft 2 in – 9 ft 10 in) into the air, and numerous boaters have been severely injured by collisions with the airborne fish.
Bighead and silver carp were imported by private fish farmers in Arkansas in the early 1970s. They were used to control plant growth in fish ponds, but by the early 1980s, both species had escaped into open waters. With no natural enemies, the fish have reproduced rapidly and traveled up the Mississippi River. The EPA is concerned about
Bighead and silver carp were imported by private fish farmers in Arkansas in the early 1970s. They were used to control plant growth in fish ponds, but by the early 1980s, both species had escaped into open waters. With no natural enemies, the fish have reproduced rapidly and traveled up the Mississippi River. The EPA is concerned about the possibility of Asian carp migrating across the Saint Lawrence River divide, to the Great Lakes drainage basin. In 2002, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) completed an electric fish barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The canal connects the Mississippi River drainage basin (via the Illinois River and its tributary the Des Plaines River) to the Great Lakes Waterway (via the Chicago River) and is the only navigable aquatic link between these basins.
Unsuspecting boaters up and down the Mississippi River have been injured when Asian carp, excited by the boat's motor, jump high in the air and sometimes land in the boat. But the carp are causing even more problems underwater. They consume massive amounts of plankton, the organism at the center of underwater ecosystems. "These things a
Unsuspecting boaters up and down the Mississippi River have been injured when Asian carp, excited by the boat's motor, jump high in the air and sometimes land in the boat. But the carp are causing even more problems underwater. They consume massive amounts of plankton, the organism at the center of underwater ecosystems. "These things are robbing everything else that depends on the productivity of the water," said Phil Moy, who studies Asian carp at the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. "The tiniest fish, the minnows that then feed larger fish that then feed us, all rely on plankton. And here we have a great big fish, and a lot of them, taking the food from everyone else." Asian carp can eventually dominate some water systems, squeezing out natives and favorite sport fish