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October 15, 2009
Who's the most full of carp?
On the front page of today's Detroit Free Press, there's a scary article about ferocious killer fish from Asia which are about to invade and destroy Lake Michigan. The situation is said to be as bad as a hurricane: Immediate action is needed to prevent a flood-prone Illinois river from releasing scores of ferocious Asian carp into Lake Michigan, where they could wreak havoc on the ecosystem of the Great Lakes and surrounding bodies of water.Ferocious? Their diet consists of plankton, and they're basically like large goldfish. The problem is that when boats approach, they jump, so they have been known to hit boaters and water skiers. While this jumping habit could result in serious injuries or deaths, that behavior is no more "ferocious" than deer jumping in front of cars, and while the latter is a hazard to motorists I don't think too many people consider deer ferocious animals. Silver carp can grow to 80 pounds and leap out of the water, endangering boaters and anglers. They feed voraciously on the food other lake species eat, so they could destroy or drastically alter the food chain.That sounds like the pure and noble thing to do, doesn't it? And the ferocious invaders from Asia sound every bit like the piscine equivalent of Attila the Hun, poised to destroy underwater civilization. Experts fear the fish could wipe out sport and commercial fisheries on the Great Lakes.Except what the experts aren't pointing out is that Lake Michigan is not as ecologically pristine as they'd have you believe. The linchpin of the sport fishing industry happens to be salmon, but there are no native salmon. All the salmon have been introduced (just as the carp once was further south): Great Lakes recreational fishing generates about $4.5 billion a year, according to 2002 figures from the U.S. General Accounting Office, and the most prized species are exotic salmon and trout.So, what we have is one non-native species competing against another, while humans pontificate on which non-native species should be allowed to survive in order to be eaten. What would Darwin say? In Alaska they're worried about invasive Atlantic salmon, and more recently, a new threat has been discovered in the form of captive-bred native species! No, seriously. Apparently, it is evil to allow human-bred captives to breed with their wilder brethren. At least, so say the high priests of ecology: Fish raised in large ocean pens have genetic traits that make them distinct from their wild counterparts. This has led critics of the fish farming industry to argue that farmed fish that break free - a common occurrence - might breed with native ones, perhaps compromising the health of the entire species and threatening its ability to survive in its natural setting.Gee, so that means non-native species are actually better for the environment than captive-bred native species.... I sure hope these environmentalists know what they're talking about. One thing I've noticed about environmentalists is that they're very quick to change their minds. Wood burning stoves were once good, but now they're bad. Windmills went from good to bad, then good again. Biodiesel went from good to bad. I can't even keep track of their thoughts on ethanol as fuel. But I'm relieved to hear that (at least for now) non-native fish can be better than captive natives. There is an old-fashioned, man-made solution to the problem of carp. They have been aquafarmed for countless centuries for food, and they are not only a delicacy in Asia, but they're a main ingredient in Gefilte fish. Plus they're a great source of fish feed as well as Omega-3 oil. On top of all that, they're fun to catch! Watching the video of this Redneck Carp Fishing Tournament makes me want to throw Coco in the back of my 1964 Ranchero and head for the Mississippi River!
...in the last decade commercial carp breeding has been hit hard by the carp virus, which kills about 90 percent of the fish in the early stage of life. This week about four million carp fingerlings in the fish ponds of the Beit She'an Valley are being immunized against the virus, a step that Agriculture Ministry officials said Wednesday was vital to insuring sufficient supplies of the adult fish ahead of Rosh Hashanah.I realize we've got an administration that isn't exactly loved by the Israelis right now. But I think if we asked them nicely, they might at least be willing to share their carp virus with us. Anyway, I think that if there were a concerted effort between the rednecks and the Israelis, the edible invaders wouldn't stand a chance. posted by Eric on 10.15.09 at 03:05 PM
Comments
for all this talk of evolution there seems to be alot of folks who don't want it to happen newrouter · October 15, 2009 05:25 PM Hunt and harvest the carp to extinction, and in 20 years we will have the Fish and Wildlife service stocking carp all over. Gringo · October 15, 2009 11:52 PM I say, we introduce snake fish to eat them. Then barracuda to eat the snake fish. Then the barracuda die in winter. Veeshir · October 16, 2009 07:27 PM Yeah, I meant snake-head fish. It'll still work. Veeshir · October 16, 2009 07:30 PM Well I'm Jewish and I hate Gefilte fish. I had enough of it during my childhood to last a lifetime. My grandma's specialty. If you put a lot of horseradish on it it is not too bad. M. Simon · October 16, 2009 08:21 PM The Barrier will stop nothing, By protecting the Alewives (salmon food) they left the Lakes wide open for Asian carp. Google Common Carp control using native predators, principle the same. However native fish Perch, walleyes also eat Alewives and compete with salmon thus not allowed. So if we don't lose the salmon we lose the lakes to the asian carp! Tom Matych · October 18, 2009 04:26 AM Post a comment
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Wow, what a bunch of carp.