Can we exterminate silver carp?

[Clumsy fisherman]

Those carp are going to ruin bass fishing or fishing for any other species. I read articles that say there is no hope, that it is inevitable tha these carp take over all of our lakes and rivers. I say we can get rid of them. One thing humans have been able to do with extraordinary success is eliminate certain species of wildlife. I contend that with a plan and several options pursued simultaneously we can eliminate this pest. Any ideas about what we can do?

[DaubsNU1]

Nebraska Game and Parks tries to control high densities of carp at the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge. It seems to be a never ending battle. 

 

https://outdoornebraska.gov/valentineahp/

 

 

[gim]

My understanding is that there is an underwater electronic barrier at the mouth of Lake Michigan near Chicago operated by the Army Corp of Engineers that prevents them from entering the Great Lakes. So far it has been effective.

 

Not sure how we can eradicate them once they establish a waterway though. We’ve all seen those things jumping out of the Illinois River by the hundreds when an outboard comes by.

[Bankbeater]

We had an oxbow lake here in Missouri that became infested with Asian carp after a flood.  The DNR literally drug a net through the lake to catch the carp and then released the other fish back into the lake.

[Tennessee Boy]

The plan they have for the Tennessee river seems like a good plan to me.  It’s taking too long to implement but that’s typical for the government.

[Clumsy fisherman]

8 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

The plan they have for the Tennessee river seems like a good plan to me.  It’s taking too long to implement but that’s typical for the government.

what's the plan? I live in Knoxville ad fish on TVA lakes, so I am very interested. I understand these carp are already in Kentucky Lake.

[Tennessee Boy]

1 hour ago, Clumsy fisherman said:

what's the plan? I live in Knoxville ad fish on TVA lakes, so I am very interested. I understand these carp are already in Kentucky Lake.

The plan is to put barriers in the locks that scare the carp to keep the from moving through the locks.  There is no evidence that the carp have ever spawned in the Tennessee River so if we can stop them from moving up from the Ohio River then their numbers should drop over time.  If they start spawning here then all bets are off.   There is concern that they could spawn in the Duck River.

[Darth-Baiter]

 Can’t even keep ants out of my house.  The trick is to make them a valuable commodity. Like if they were delicious or they pooped pearls.  Dunno. 

[WRB]

Can “we” as anglers control a invasive fish species no!

Can a government agencies control the exploding Silver Carp population, yes with enough $$ and top priority given.

Tom

[uglyasheck]

I heard this morning in Australia they are introducing herpes virus to invasive fish and having success. This may be the carp answer we been looking for. I thing as they breed they will pass it around.

[TnRiver46]

It’s really not that big of a problem, the more fear they spread the more money they receive to fight the fight. They could easily stop them from advancing up TN river by closing the lock. They can jump but they can’t jump a 200 ft concrete wall

[gim]

38 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

They can jump but they can’t jump a 200 ft concrete wall

And they only jump as a result of noise.

 

Dams up here in the Mississippi have halted their northward movement too.  They have not found any evidence of a reproducing population of them north of Red Wing, MN.

[TnRiver46]

11 hours ago, WRB said:

Can “we” as anglers control a invasive fish species no!

Can a government agencies control the exploding Silver Carp population, yes with enough $$ and top priority given.

Tom

I’m scratching my head trying to remember a time the government successfully controlled a fish population . 

[roadwarrior]

Bring in the private sector. Invite pet food companies to "harvest" all these invaders with 

added incentive. Free fish and a $100 per ton bonus.

[Dogface]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’m scratching my head trying to remember a time the government successfully controlled a fish population . 

 

Stop scratching before you go bald. ?  It ain't gonna happen. 

 

I know nothing about these carp and the problems they cause but if the bass start to feed on the smaller carp like they do goby's in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence there may be some big bass to harvest in a few years. 

 

Does anyone know if bass feed on this particular carp? 

[TnRiver46]

19 minutes ago, Dogface said:

 

Stop scratching before you go bald. ?  It ain't gonna happen. 

 

I know nothing about these carp and the problems they cause but if the bass start to feed on the smaller carp like they do goby's in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence there may be some big bass to harvest in a few years. 

 

Does anyone know if bass feed on this particular carp? 

They’ve literally never found a small one in TN river, all large adults 

 

which is even further evidence all they have to do to stop it is close the lock. But then all of a sudden the million dollars of grant money stops coming in. 
 

therefore they will keep opening the locks, crying wolf and looking for handouts 

[Chris Catignani]

[Team9nine]

Ain’t happening - save your time and money. They’re here; they’ll spread; and eventually the population will level off or even start collapsing under its own weight, and everything left will adapt accordingly.

[gim]

River systems would be pretty difficult to try and control because there's all kinds of tributaries, floods, droughts, etc.  A dam might inhibit some of that migration, but its also inhibiting migration of other species too.

 

Individual lakes that really have no in or out flows that are more "contained" could be prevented or mitigated with spread.  The MN DNR has implemented mandatory removal of all water from watercraft ballasts, live wells, bait buckets, etc before leaving the access to slow the spread of certain invasive species here for years now.  If you get caught with any lake water after leaving the access, its a citation/fine.  And you cannot take live bait like minnows from one location to the next either - they have to be disposed of properly.  Ice anglers aren't particularly fond of this rule because if they have leftover minnows, they cannot leave the lake with any lake water to transport their bait.

 

The introduction of silver carp is not a natural-occurring event.  They were introduced into ponds by us from China to control algae and clean up the water column, and then escaped.  So saying "let nature run its course" is a moot point as we've already caused the initial problem to begin with.

[Tennessee Boy]

The bass fishing collapsed in Kentucky lake a few years ago and everyone blamed it on Asian carp.  I think it had more to do with the loss of milfoil but what do I know.  Crappie fishing was not affected which makes me think it was not caused by carp.  The bass fishing is coming back on Kentucky lake.  I would love to see the carp go away but I think we can live with them.  The problem doesn’t seem to be getting worse and may be getting a little better in Tennessee.  Any help that the lock barriers provide will only improve the situation.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

How you going to stop these carp eggs from getting stuck to water bird feathers then that bird goes up river/lake and boom locks are meaningless. There has also been studies that fish eggs eaten by birds can "survive the journey" and contribute transport over land. 

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fish-eggs-survive-journey-through-a-duck/

To test their hunch, the researchers acquired eight captive-bred mallard ducks from a local breeder and the eggs of two carp species from an aquaculture institute. They force-fed each duck three grams of fertilized eggs (about 500 eggs per serving) from each fish species over two separate experiments. Examination of the birds' feces revealed 18 whole eggs, which the investigators placed in an aquarium. Twelve had viable living embryos, and three hatched into normal baby fish.

[gim]

6 minutes ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

How you going to stop these carp eggs from getting stuck to water bird feathers then that bird goes up river/lake and boom locks are meaningless. There has also been studies that fish eggs eaten by birds can "survive the journey" and contribute transport over land. 

Remote, but possible.

 

Still doesn't account for the fact that silver carp originated in China and were brought here by us.  No bird is going to ingest fish eggs in China, fly across the Pacific Ocean, and then drop viable living eggs into a waterway here.  Its literally impossible.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

21 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Remote, but possible.

 

Still doesn't account for the fact that silver carp originated in China and were brought here by us.  No bird is going to ingest fish eggs in China, fly across the Pacific Ocean, and then drop viable living eggs into a waterway here.  Its literally impossible.

Im not replying to the origin of how the carp got in the waterways (thats water under the bridge) and not what the topic is about. My reply is to the way they can get past locks dams and into pure waterways now, any plan would also need to combat this transfer.

How do fish get into landlocked lakes that never had fish introduced by man? Critters and birds bring them in. 

 

[gim]

5 minutes ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

Im not replying to the origin of how the carp got in the waterways (thats water under the bridge) and not what the topic is about. My reply is to the way they can get past locks dams and into pure waterways now, any plan would also need to combat this transfer.

How do fish get into landlocked lakes that never had fish introduced by man? Critters and birds bring them in. 

 

I understand.  Thank you for clarifying.  Other posts in this thread state we should let nature run its natural course, but they fail to realize that we already altered that course with their introduction to the ecosystem.  Absurdly ironic.

 

Its like dumping toxic chemicals into the environment, but then stating we should naturally let it go away on its own. 

[Tennessee Boy]

1 hour ago, QUAKEnSHAKE said:

How you going to stop these carp eggs from getting stuck to water bird feathers then that bird goes up river/lake and boom locks are meaningless. There has also been studies that fish eggs eaten by birds can "survive the journey" and contribute transport over land. 

 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fish-eggs-survive-journey-through-a-duck/

To test their hunch, the researchers acquired eight captive-bred mallard ducks from a local breeder and the eggs of two carp species from an aquaculture institute. They force-fed each duck three grams of fertilized eggs (about 500 eggs per serving) from each fish species over two separate experiments. Examination of the birds' feces revealed 18 whole eggs, which the investigators placed in an aquarium. Twelve had viable living embryos, and three hatched into normal baby fish.

Interesting article.  Thanks for posting it.

 

I think it’s less likely to happen with Asian carp as I understand their spawning process.  They release their eggs in flowing water and the eggs are fertilized as they drift.  The velocity of the current is very important.  It appears that the rivers around here do not provide the habitat they need to spawn.   It’s unlikely that we will ever get to zero carp so if a few extra get delivered in duck poop it shouldn’t make a difference anyway.