Why are carp so prevalent in the United States?

It’s Asian carp that are overrun in the United States.

Asian Carp refers to carp originating in Asia. In the United States, Asian carp actually refers to the entire "Asian carp family". In China, it mainly refers to silver carp, herring and bighead carp that we commonly eat.

Asian carp are large, weird-looking, with large mouths and eyes located lower on the sides of their heads. They are obviously different from other common carp that live in freshwater lakes in the United States. The Asian carp can reach a maximum size of 1.2 meters, weigh 45 kilograms, and can jump over a 2.4-meter obstacle.

Asian Carp

Relevant data show that these Asian carps can consume 40% of their body weight in aquatic plants, plankton or wild clams every day. Adult Asian carp are highly adaptable and eat about half of their body weight every day. In addition, each female Asian carp can lay 3 million eggs.

2. Types of Asian carp

Black carp: Mainly distributed in the plain areas south of the Yangtze River in my country, and rarer in the north of the Yangtze River. It is found in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and in lakes along the river. It is an important fishery resource and the main aquaculture target in various lakes and ponds. It is one of the "four major fish" aquacultured in freshwater in China.

Cross carp: also known as "grass carp", fish class, carp family, it is a fish species that is relatively similar to herring, and its body color is close to that of crucian carp, with colors such as gray and white, grass yellow and golden yellow. , one of the "four major fish" cultivated in freshwater in China.

Bighead carp: Bighead carp is a filter-feeding fish that has a cleaning effect on water quality. Generally, there are more fish ponds and reservoirs than other fish mixed together, so some people give it the nickname "water scavenger" and it is distributed in water areas. It is very widespread and can be seen in almost all freshwater basins in China from the south to the north. It is one of the four famous domestic fishes in China.

Carp: mostly inhabit the bottom of water bodies covered with aquatic plants in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and swamps, and feed mainly on benthic animals. It has strong adaptability, resistance to cold, alkali and hypoxia. It can lay eggs in running water or still water. The spawning places are mostly in aquatic plants. The eggs adhere to the aquatic plants and develop. It is one of the freshwater fish with the most varieties, the widest distribution, the longest breeding history and the highest yield.

Silver carp: Also known as silver carp, water silver carp, jumping silver carp, and silver carp, it belongs to the order Cypriniformes and the family Cyprinidae, and is one of the four famous domestic fishes. Similar in shape to bighead carp, silver carp is impatient and good at jumping. Silver carp is a large freshwater fish raised artificially. It grows quickly, has few diseases and has high yield. It is often mixed with grass carp and carp. Its meat is fresh and tender and rich in nutrients. It is one of the excellent fish species that is suitable for breeding. It is one of the main freshwater cultured fish species in my country. Distributed in major river systems across the country.

In the 1960s, the United States was eager to find a safer way than chemical drugs to control flooding of aquatic plants, algae, etc. So the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service came up with a "biological method" to introduce silver carp from China to Arkansas. Later, many fish farms followed suit and used silver carp as an excellent natural pond cleaner.

In the 1990s, due to several floods in the Mississippi River, these fish moved north along the Mississippi River. Other "Asian carp brothers" (even goldfish and koi) have also become "illegal immigrants" one after another. Due to the lack of natural predators, these "carp" with fast growth and strong reproductive capacity have become the local water kings.

Compared with China, there are several reasons why Asian carp can cause environmental disasters in the United States:

1. China’s rivers and lakes are highly polluted and suffer from droughts from time to time, which is not conducive to Asia. Massive carp flooding. Most harmful industries in the United States have moved overseas, and the environment is well protected. The Mississippi River and other rivers have large amounts of water, good water quality, and plenty of aquatic plants and other food. This is conducive to the large-scale reproduction of Asian carps.

2. Chinese people like to eat carp. Whether they are fishing or fishing, Asian carp are their favorite objects. Americans are not particularly fond of carp. Fishing generally involves largemouth bass, etc., so Asian carp are the favorite. Carp can live "at ease".

3. All things are interdependent. Carp has a long history in China and has many natural enemies. Some species in nature can inhibit the overpopulation of carp. On the contrary, for the United States, Asian carp were only introduced in recent years. As an alien species, it lacks natural enemies and will inevitably encroach on the living space of other local species.

5. Prevention and control measures

1. Trap carp with scent

2. Use acoustic water guns to scare them

3. Strengthen fishing net layout< /p>