The Invasive Catfish Population

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.

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.

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

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

One environmental issue that the great lakes watershed has been exposed to is invasive species. An invasive species is any organism that is foreign to an ecosystem and causes harm (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2016). In ordered to be classified as foreign they do not have to be from a different country but they just must be a non-native to an established ecosystem. Some of the species travel at their own will but they primarily spread through human activities unintentionally. As we import and export goods, or travel, some uninvited species may ride along and travel to new places. Organisms can be stowed away in ships or products like wood. Some ornamental plants may

There were Asian Carp found in a water mass in one of the Great Lakes. Imported from Asia, the sliver carp, will out compete native species in the Great Lakes for food. This would ruin the ecosystem in the Great Lakes because the carps will out compete the species that are native to this lake for food causing the native species to die off. In the Great Lakes commercial and sport fishing is an industry that is worth billions yearly. The silver carp that was found in the great lake could have gotten there many different ways. On is that is swam through the electric barrier that prevents carps from entering the water way. Another is that it could have been on about and carried past the barrier. Lastly, it could have been placed in the lake by

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

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed is considered of national high importance due to its 64,000 square miles and 17.4 million people inhabitants. However, this has not been sufficient to improve the health of the ecosystem over the last 25 years. The primary reasons for this lack of improvement are the lack of knowledge and information of the people living on the watershed, the multistate composition of the watershed and the broad range of activities that the watershed supports.

Another main challenge facing the Great Lakes is the threat of invasive species, specifically the Asian Carp. The Asian Carp is very dangerous to the great lakes if they were to invade the Great Lakes they would have the capability to knock out entire species of fish while having no real predators. The intrusion of this fish has the potential to ruin the lake's ecosystem altogether. Not only would it hurt the ecosystem immensely, but would drastically hurt the 7 billion dollar fishing industry in the United States. The Greats Lake Restoration Initiative has funded electronic barriers in places vulnerable to the Asian Carp, to keep the fish out of the Great Lakes. These barriers have been successful and have slowed the spread of Asian Carp in

Have you ever seen lake that is crystal clear with a bottom that is covered in muscles or has carp splashing on the surface as far as the eye can see? This happens when invasive species enter lakes and have an enormous population spike due to a lack of natural predators. In the video Aquatic Invaders it is said that “Over the last century and a half, there have been over 140 species that are invading the great lakes but, in only the last 30 years this trend has been accelerating (Donahue).”There are a wide variety of invasive species from hundreds of types of algae to big head carp and all of which have few positives and a large variety of negative effects. Despite the negative effects, there are few prevention methods in place to prevent these invasive species from entering our local water including the great lakes. While I do concede that there are a few positive aspects such as Bow fishing, I still insist that invasive species destroy lakes, kill native species, and could cost the state millions in lost tourism and fishery revenue.

Electric barriers are currently the only things protecting the Great Lakes from Asian carp. This barrier is similar to electric fences in people yards, it is meant to repel the fish rather than actually electrocuting them. It uses a strong electric field to repel the fish. These best work with larger fish. Fish smaller than two inches are able to have easier time getting through the barriers. There are some concerns with the electric barriers these include but are not limited to barges and other large vessels disrupting the electric field of the barriers and able to let fish get through the with the vessel. (Prieur, 2016) Another concern is power outages. Some carp may have already been able made pass of the barriers during a power outage

They present a series of suggestions for controlling potentially invasive crayfish which include: prevention of moving animals from state to state, eradicate target pest species, introduce stringent criteria for preventing escapes from outdoor aquaculture facilities, provide educational materials for the hobbyist, teacher and students regarding releases in the wild, banning the use of crayfish as live bait, monitoring and

The Asian carp is a problem that has been growing in the United States for number of years. This specific species is an extremely dominate fish witch causes dangers for other species. There is a number of ways to try and reduce and to prevent them from spreading in our waters. One of the sources is in this article is National State Parks They explain why these fish are so dangerous in our waters. Another is an article Adam Hintnerthuer wrote and he explains the importance of the topic and methods on how to stop the spread so it does not create something worse than it already is.

The smalltooth sawfish became the first marine fish in the U.S. to receive federal protection as an endangered species. All of the seven species of sawfish are on the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The main cause of the decline in the number of sawfish is due to the entanglement in commercial fishing nets that are found in the ocean. Their toothy rostrum causes extensive net damage. Therefore, many fisherman have regarded these fishes as an inconvenience. As a result, many of the sawfish caught in nets were killed, or too harmed from the incident to survive once set free. Another factor to the loss of the smalltooth sawfish is the loss of mangrove forests and other nursery habitats for conversion to any beachfront development in the southeast, which is extremely important for the smalltooth

Research has shown that “the long-term effects of electrofishing on individual fish in some of these streams suggests that steps should be taken to minimize electrofishing injury” (Thompson et al. 1997). Steps that could be taken “include more extensive training of new electrofishing personnel and the use of existing electrofishing equipment in the least injurious manner” (Thompson et al 1997). One big thing to take into consideration is endangered species, “electrofishing in waters containing endangered of threatened species should be considered with great caution” (Sharber et al.