Asian Carp And The New Carp

The author of American Catch, Paul Greenberg starts us on a journey through america's seafood industry from the early days of abundant seafood to the present condition of our fisheries. America has about 94,000 miles of coast and about 3.5 million miles of rivers, but about 91 percent of our seafood is imported. Here in America 39 percent of citizens call themselves coastal folk, but Greenberg argues we have lost touch with the complex ecosystems of the nation’s shorelines. Estuaries and salt marshes are strange crossroads where salt and freshwater currents meet to be home for oysters, shrimp, and crab. They are also home of dozens of varieties of fish. Greenberg complains about our nation’s destructive relationship with its own shoreline and tells Americans they must desire to “build a bridge back from the plate back to the estuary. This requires us to not just to eat local seafood. It requires the establishment of a working relationship with salt marshes, oyster beds, the natural flow of water from river to sea, and the integrity of the ocean floor.”.

The consumer market for freshwater ornamental fish and related products in the US exceeds $700 million annually and is growing at a rate of nearly 9% per year

Asian Carp should be prevented from entering the Great Lakes because they are destroying the ecosystem in that area. They are a negative contribution to the lakes because they are eating all of the plankton needed for the native fish to survive, which in turn will create a mass starvation among all the fish in the area. The Asian Carp are also a hazard to boaters, as they are capable of jumping out of the water and knocking into fishermen. They can take over an area quickly and never leave because they have no predators, they come in massive swarms, and they breed fast.

Along with the sheer capability to sustain fish populations and feed the increasing demands of humans, the practice of aquaculture itself is a resource efficient way of producing protein. By nature, fish are able to convert more of their food into body mass than when looking at land animals. For example, farmed raised salmon are one of the most intensively-fed cultured fish, but according to the NOAA, when comparing the ratio of pounds of feed to produce a pound of protein, farm raised salmon has a ratio of 1.2 pounds of feed to produce 1 pound of salmon, which is still lower than the 1.9 pounds of feed to produce 1 pound of chicken (whereas Pork is 5.9lbs : 1lb, and Beef measures in at 8.7lbs : 1lb) (NOAA,

There are unwanted visitors threatening to make their home in the Great Lakes. Originally coming from Asia, the fish immigrated to the Mississippi River eventually making their way to the Great Lakes. Let’s take a look at the problem, the causes and effects, and the possible solutions of the Asian Carp Invasion.

Iconic Cape Cod Massachusetts is named after the Atlantic Cod. For centuries, this fish has provided food and trade for New Englanders. In this time, there have been several instances of overfishing by humans from the aboriginal era to colonial times but none so drastic as the present conditions of cod fisheries (Jackson, Kirby, Berger, and Bjorndal, 2001). Overfishing is a human induced occurrence where humans are fishing more than a body of water can sustain. In other words, humans are catching more adult fish preventing the existing population from growing to replenish the fish that were caught (Overfishing: A Global Disaster, n.d.). Worldwide, over 80% of the fish stocks are “fully- to over-exploited, depleted, or in a state of collapse” (Overfishing: A Global Disaster, n.d.). The results of this careless behavior has reduced the biodiversity in the Gulf of Maine and landed the Atlantic Cod on the endangered species list as being “vulnerable” (Cod, n.d.). In the neighboring region of Newfoundland, Canada, communities are already feeling the effects of overfishing. In 1992, at the beginning of the fishing season in the Grand Bank region, there were suddenly no more cod. The local economies collapsed and to this day, the region has not quite recovered (Brennan and Withgott, 2005).

As well as pollution, invasive species are damaging the lake ecosystems and food chains, made fragile by pollution and overfishing. The introduction of a new species throws off the balance of food chains. Some common invasive species include the sea lamprey, Asian carp, and zebra mussels, among many others. Zebra mussels have dramatically influenced and affected stable food chains by reducing the amount of zooplankton and phytoplankton. This presents a problem, as fish mostly feed on the drifters, and so they go hungry and die, leaving no food for larger fish to prey on. In addition to underwater disruption, it affects us as well, but only slightly. Plankton and algae especially are the most productive aquatic producers of oxygen, and by the decreasing population, we lose oxygen as well. The sea lamprey is also a problem, though it is not so influential to ecosystems as the zebra mussel.

Now days times have changed. You can no longer enjoy the things you once could. It has become dangerous to waterski or to even enjoy a boat ride down the river due to the Asian carp. These fish are startled easily by boats, and small watercraft. They can jump ten to twelve feet out of the water causing damage to boats and injuring humans. I have heard of people getting cuts from the fins, black eyes, concussions, broken noses and jaws, and even knocked unconscious from this species of fish. Not only are these Asian Carp causing physical damage, they are wreaking havoc on the ecological system. The main concern from the Asian Carp is the dangerous effects that it is bringing to our ecosystem. As an avid fisherman, this is of great concern to me. This will not only affect me as a fisherman, but also possibly hunters, bird watchers, boaters, even jet skiers and water skiers are

We need to decide if we want the economic benefits or if we want to save our ecosystem for the future generations to enjoy. Spotted bass are being considered an invasive species by some biologists. In 1993 a group of biologists in Louisiana put tracking devices in spotted bass to try and learn more about this species that was becoming more prevalent in the Flint river. The same group of biologists did a follow up electro-shock in 1999. The electro-shock showed that this population of bass was growing at an extremely rapid rate. The population of these fish had more than doubled and the other fish species had decreased, especially the largemouth and smallmouth bass. There was another electro-shock done in 2005 that showed the same results. The spotted bass population was growing rapidly and the largemouth and smallmouth populations were dropping. A different group of biologist decided to follow up on the studies that were done in earlier years. They found that the largemouth populations are struggling and the smallmouth are no longer in the Flint river. According to North American Journal of Fisheries Management, the recent introduction of spotted bass along the upper Flint River has caused great concern among anglers and fisheries managers about the potential negative impacts.

An invasive species has entered Maryland’s waters and threatens to dramatically alter the balance of the aquatic ecosystem. The Northern Snakehead fish, native to Asia and Africa, is a voracious predator, competing with native fish at all stages of its life. The juveniles will consume zooplankton, insect larvae, small crustaceans and other fry fish. Adults eat fish, crustaceans, frogs, small reptiles and even birds and mammals. Snakeheads aggressively protect their young. They are also air-breathers which allow them to survive on land for as long as four days and migrate up to a quarter mile over land making control difficult. Snakeheads carry a disease, Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome, and there is concern this disease may be transmitted to native fish. The snakehead fish was probably intentionally released in the U.S. by aquarium owners and through the live food fish trade attempting to establish a local food source. To date, the snakehead fish is found in seven states with reproducing populations documented in Maryland and Florida. In Maryland, they have been captured in the Potomac River and tributaries. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Biological Resources Division of the U.S.G.S. are all involved in monitoring and eradicating the snakehead fish. Maryland anglers can help by learning to identify the snakehead fish and by removing it from the ecosystem. As further incentive, Maryland DNR has offered

Asian Carp where brought to America in the 1970’s because of their ferocious appetites, to keep algae and other matters out of ponds on catfish farms. Asian Carp average a full-grown length of five feet, and can surpass one hundred pounds. They breed and populate, and grow very quickly. Asian Carp are adversely affecting their un-natural environments by starving out native pond and river inhabitants. They have been slowly but surely migrating up the Mississippi River since their introduction to the Georgia portion. Their imminent arrival to the Great Lakes of Michigan has become a serious concern. This would be an issue because the Great Lakes are currently home to more than 43 federally protected species of fish. An invasion by Asian Carp

Introduction: The Bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in the family Salmonidae and are a char native to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Montana and western Canada. Compared to other salmonids, bull trout have more specific habitat requirements that appear to influence their distribution and abundance (USFWS, 2015). Bull trout were historically regarded as pests due to their voracious predatory behavior. It was thought that bull trout depleted populations of “more desirable” game fish by feeding on them when they were very small thus supposedly depleting the numbers. In fact at one point there was a bounty placed on bull trout tails in Canada to encourage fisherman to rid the waters of this “Bully,” which effectively eliminated them from certain watersheds (Donald, D. B., and D. J. Alger. 1993). At one time in the early 1900’s the Bull Trout thrived in the waterways of the Northwest. The Upper Snake Recovery Unit for the Bull trout occurs within central Idaho, northern Nevada, and eastern Oregon. Major drainages include: the Salmon River, Malheur River,

I have been fishing my whole life, especially bass fish. I normally try to catch largemouth bass, which are very common where I am from. I was on my high school’s bass fishing team and we actually did pretty well for the most part, especially coming from such a small school. Largemouth bass are our prime target during these fishing tournaments. A largemouth bass is a white/green fish usually ranging from 1 pound to 6, they can also get up to 10 pounds as well. You can bass fish for fun or you can do it competitively such as tournaments. Tournaments usually go like every other tournament, you have two people and an adult captain that basically drives the boat and puts people in the best spots to catch bass. Every tournament usually starts at around 7 in the morning and goes through to 3 in the afternoon. After the time limit is reached, the boats then unload and get pulled up in the parking lot with the fish in them. The teams, then one by one go up to the weigh station and get a bag to put the

Digest of federal resource laws of interest to the U.S. fish and wildlife service. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/FISHCON.HTML

Many breeds of fish are being captured at a faster rate than they can reproduce. Some species such as orange roughy fishing became popular in New Zealand in the 1970’s. Over time, it spread to many countries around the world. In the last 20 years, there has been a decline in catch up to 75%. It is no longer common to see in grocery stores as well as restaurants. The amounts of fish that are captured and distributed around the world are alarming opposed to the rate the fish can multiply.