It's About Time!

[Wayne SW/MO]

I don't think we know the extent of the effect the Asian can have and that's the worrisome part. The common has been here so long that there isn't anything new to expect from them.

[Tim Smith]

I don't think we know the extent of the effect the Asian can have and that's the worrisome part. The common has been here so long that there isn't anything new to expect from them.

But the known effects of common carp are bad enough. They tear into substrate like no other North American fish. Illinois would have clear running streams if not for common carp.

I agree that the full extent of the Asian carp's damage is a story yet to be told. But they feed from the water column and so only compete for resources. At the populations they've attained, that's a lot of competition. So yes, and they may indeed end up being worse on the whole.

[MOPanfisher]

Bring an old alaskan cannery ship up the river and use it to clean them and make the meat into Surimi, add some coloring etc. and have a new source for imitation crab meat, make the rest into fish meal for feed. Glad to see them at least trying to make use of them, we aren't going to get rid of the various carps so finding a way to utilize them im is a good thing. I've eaten a lot of common ocarp over the years but not had a chance to try the big heads or silvers, thankfully they don't live where I fish. (Yet)

[Wayne SW/MO]

Illinois would have clear running streams if not for common carp.

I agree that the full extent of the Asian carp's damage is a story yet to be told. But they feed from the water column and so only compete for resources. At the populations they've attained, that's a lot of competition. So yes, and they may indeed end up being worse on the whole.

And frogs would fly if the had wings! I think maybe the type of land they drain might have a little more to do with that.

I think the competition for food mght be a somewhat bigger threat to the fisheries environment.

[Tim Smith]

And frogs would fly if the had wings! I think maybe the type of land they drain might have a little more to do with that.

I think the competition for food mght be a somewhat bigger threat to the fisheries environment.

Except that when common carp tear out vegetation, that removes habitat for invertebrates and reduces the food resource even more than they could by simply eating their dinner. No other North American fish does this the way they do this.

Common carp are a disaster.

[Seth]

Asian carp are delicious for those that are wondering. The worst part is cleaning the stinking things! I've had them deep fried and pressure cooked then turned in to fish patties. Both are very good.

The pressure cooking method doesn't require you to remove the bones. Simply fillet the side off and remove the skin and red meat. Throw the fillet in to a pressure cooker with lemon pepper and seasoning salt (or any other spices you want to try) and cook till the bones are dissolved. I don't recall how long it had to cook. After that, just mix the minced fish with some egg and breadcrumbs and form patties. We froze them two to a vacuum sealed package. When I wanted to eat them, I would cut open the package, throw them in a skillet with a little olive oil and cook them till they were warmed through and crispy on the outside. Add some cheese and a little tartar sauce or ketchup and enjoy!

Here is a video MDC put out on how to get boneless fillets from an asian carp. It's a little bit more work than most fish require, but you don't have to deal with the bones. Chunk the strips up and deep fry like any other fish. I bet you the will be surprised just how good they taste. When I ate them, we also had channel cat cooked side by side. The asian carp were WAY better tasting than them nasty ol channel cats.

[Wayne SW/MO]

Common carp are a disaster.

How does anyone know that?? They predate most fisheries biology in this country!

[Tim Smith]

How does anyone know that?? They predate most fisheries biology in this country!

Experimental biology.

Look at the effects of their removal. Gigantic.

Begin with William Ricker and John Gottschalk, 1941, An Experiment in Removing Coarse Fish from a Lake, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, Vol. 70, pp. 382-390 (a general fish removal, but dominated by carp that allowed vegetation to return and resulted in a massive rebound in all game fish species) and proceed forward to the many modern ecological studies that point to huge effects of carp. A couple are pasted here. Pardon the sloppiness of the graphics below but there are dozens more if you care to read the literature.

Once they are dense (and in some places they can't accomplish that, but in others they run amok) they remove vegetation and make clear systems cloudy. The outward effects of that reduce other populations of fish, waterfowl, and other types of species too.

Effects of adult common carp (Cyprinus carpio) on multiple trophic levels in shallow mesocosms

Joseph J Parkos III, Victor J Santucci, Jr., David H Wah

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2003, 60(2): 182-192, 10.1139/f03-011

ABSTRACT

We examined the effects of adult common carp (Cyprinus carpio) on shallow aquatic ecosystems and compared the effects with those of a native benthic fish, channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Experimental ponds contained enclosures (0.06 ha) with a low carp biomass (174 kg·ha¹), high carp biomass (476 kg·ha¹), high catfish biomass (416 kg·ha¹), and no fish. We measured abiotic factors (turbidity, suspended solids, total phosphorus), as well as effects on adjacent trophic levels (aquatic macrophytes, zooplankton, and aquatic macroinvertebrates) from July to September. Common carp was positively related to total phosphorus, turbidity, suspended solids, and zooplankton biomass, and negatively related to macrophyte and macroinvertebrate abundance. Suspended solids in the carp treatments consisted primarily of inorganic particles. Carp were either positively or negatively related to phytoplankton, depending on zooplankton abundance. A high biomass of carp had greater effect on nutrients, turbidity, and suspended solids than a low biomass. Channel catfish was positively related to total phosphorus concentrations and altered zooplankton composition, but did not affect turbidity, suspended solids, macroinvertebrates, and macrophytes. These results suggest that common carp have a stronger influence on water quality and aquatic community structure than benthic fish native to North America.

Effects of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) on macrophytes and invertebrate communities in a shallow lake

1. S. A. MILLER and
2. T. A. CROWL

Article first published online: 18 NOV 2005

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2005.01477.x

Effects of Common Carp on Aquatic Ecosystems 80 Years after “Carp as a Dominant”: Ecological Insights for Fisheries Management

Abstract

The introduction of fishes into habitats outside their native range may result in dramatic ecosystem alterations. Circumpolar introductions of common carp Cyprinus carpio commonly induce perturbations to shallow lakes, inducing a phase shift from clear to turbid water. Cahn (1929) first reported a phase shift following common carp introduction. Since then, ecologists have sought to understand ecosystem responses to common carp perturbation. We present a synthesis on how common carp can affect aquatic ecosystems through a middle-out framework due to their capability to alter bottom-up and top-down processes. Common carp affect bottom-up processes by modifying nutrient and turbidity concentrations and phytoplankton abundance and diversity through benthic foraging, whereas zooplankton and benthic invertebrates can be affected by top-down processes through predation and reduced foraging efficiency. Common carp also reduce aquatic macrophytes that may switch lakes from the clear to turbid water equilibrium. Restoration efforts seeking to return ecosystems to the clear water state have attempted to remove common carp populations through numerous methods with varying success. Restoration efforts should focus on entire ecosystems (humans, habitats, and biota) in conjunction with common carp reductions to achieve the greatest success at minimizing the effects of common carp and to return lakes to the clear water state.

Reviews in Fisheries Science Volume 17, Issue 4, 2009

[mic]

Tim... No you didn't... just bring in facts and research into this thread. Oh, no you didn't.

[Tim Smith]

Tim... No you didn't... just bring in facts and research into this thread. Oh, no you didn't.

My shame is an ocean.