In the 1960s, scientists in China artificially spawned Asian carp. Now the fish poses a threat to the US fish ecosystem as well as commercial fishing and recreational water activities, reports Caroline Berg in New York. It began in China in the 1960s. Thats when scientists discovered the key to creating artificial conditions to support spawning of the Asian carp fish. After that, carp-based aquaculture took off worldwide. Seven different species of the filter-feeding fish were shipped to the US to help control weeds and parasites in aquaculture operations in the South. In 1972, the silver carp variety was introduced into the US from China. Fast forward 41 years and more than a thousand miles north on the Mississippi River to southern Minnesota where on a concrete abutment a silver carp was found dead after trying to clear a dam on the river. Invasive carp: Leaping silver carp found dead in Winona - farthest upstream fish yet, read one newspaper headline after the discovery in late August. Silver carp have been creeping up the Mississippi River basin for decades, hoarding the food eaten by native fish and spreading concern into Canada because carp pose a serious threat to the ecosystem of other fish, commercial fishing and recreational water activities. And the immediate concern is that the fish threaten the Great Lakes.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 03:19:01 +0000
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