Carp-ageddon

Australia has a similar problem with the Asian Carp in its' estuary river systems. The carp doesn't so much compete as overwhelm and subdue the native fish by altering the ecology of the waterway. They are intrinsically bottom feeders and turn over the bottom of the rivers and creeks looking for food.

Trying to get governments to do more than study the problem is also another common problem. That said, many fishing clubs hold Carp fishing competitions and as they are considered a noxious pest there is no bag limit to them. In fact by law any carp caught must be killed and not returned to the water but disposed of on land. The problem is of course is that they don't normally take bait like a normal fish does. Makes it a bit more of a challenge to catch them.

We have some enterprising farmers who as a sideline net and catch the Carp. Then turn it into fertiliser, for domestic and agricultural purposes.

Other than fertiliser there's not much else you can do with them, because you can't eat them unless your desperate or have no taste buds...

There are a few small rivers that have been cleaned up of carp but there is a long way to go yet.

Australia famously has misguidedly imported some other critters;

The Cane Toad is one which is top of the list , it was imported to eradicate the Cane beetle, except it doesn't eat them. It'll eat everything else though..

The Rabbit, no not the VW, the furry hopping variety. This critter was imported to make some of the landed gentry feel more at home. Rabbits account for an awful lot of damage to the ecology and farmlands.

Camels, they thrive in the desert conditions, originally imported to ferry supplies during the building of the Ghan railway across Australia. When the job was done they were let go to fend for themselves. That they did, now when they can catch a few they export them back to the middle east. Apparently the feral Camels are tougher than the home grown ones...

and as the ad says there are many more...

Another bad idea.

The common carp has been around for more than 100 years and is quite prevalent around here. Since they are bottom feeders, the primary problem is that they suck up the eggs of all other native species when feeding.

Also, being in the southeast, I also have to add kudzu to your plant list. Imported from Japan in the 1800's for erosion control, it can grow a foot a day and takes over everything in it's path.

How to stop or get rid of either of them? I have no idea.

http://www.state-journal.com/news/article/4810880

One possible solution...incentivize people to eat the bloody things.

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jmogerman/colbert_on_carp_can_kentucky_t_1.html

Idea even made it as satire on Colbert Report.

The common carp around here, are actually a blast to catch on light tackle. They taste good too. The problem is the bones, they're small, sharp and all through the meat. If you don't mind picking out the bones beforehand, they make good fish patties or fish tacos.

Kudzu also has it's merits, cows love it, but it can't be dried and stored like hay, it just falls apart. It's also very nutritious and the roots can be dried, ground up and used as a thickener, like cornstarch.

You cook those common carp up in a preasure cooker and the bones just melt away. Pretty good eating really.

You catch a truck load of the Asian Carp, you can take them to the zoo, or a lot of other animal sanctuarys and they'll use them to feed the animals and preditor fish.

Speaking of "light tackle" I happened to be walking along the bank of a creek where it emptied into a river and noticed a guy sleeping _{^{or possibly passed out?,}} on the bank with an empty wine bottle laying next to him, as I got closer, I noticed a fishing line tied to his big toe which began twitching furiously. He suddenly sat upright and began fighting and eventually landing a ten pound carp. It was like a scene out of a Mark Twain novel. This was before Asian carp, or he could probably have waited to be slapped awake by one.

My favorite "invader" is the tumbleweed which came courtesy of the seeds imported by flax farmers immigrating from Russia.

Add to the mix, the Mongoose, imported into Hawaii, from India, as a predator to the Sugarcane Rat--Problem is that the Rat is nocturnal, while the mongoose is not--Welcome to some of the Scientific community--We have tons of both of them...

Oh well. Then of course there is the most invasive species of all...hairless primates.

The image above and video I have seen, show these carp jumping out of the water. Is this due to the fact that there are so many of them that the only way to go is up?Maybe this trait could be used to selectively remove them from the native population, like an Asian carp mower.

The sound of a motor boat going up and down the river really gets them agitated and makes them jump out of the water. That makes them very dangerous. Imagine a boat going 40 mph and a 100lb carp jumping out of the water hitting you in the face, if it doesn't take your head off your definitely ending up in the water.

Boats with nets projected out from the sides about water level to six feet high running up and down the river would fill there nets up pretty quick. Especially up North on the Mississippi. It would make allot of fertilizer for the farming community's.

Hey Jaxy here is one that you for got. It's not only limited to animals. It's been in the news here for weeks. How it is damaging fruit crops like apples and pears. Also now that the weather has gotten cooler infesting peoples homes looking for a place to winter.

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/brown-marmorated-stink-bug

I hadn't heard about that. Thanks for the link and information!

Well...in Illinois the asian carp appeared about 5 year ago and what developed was a sporting industry!

Bow fishing for carp is very popular, but the best event occurs in Havanna, IL and is called 'Redneck Fishing'...you go fast down the river and the fish [attracted by the vibrations of the engine] jump up and into the boat! (Many injuries are reported to conservation police by recreational boaters) and the boat with the most fish taken in this method gets the prize, 1/2 of the entry fees.

Don't forget gm corn and soybeans. Not just invasive but state sanctioned too. It wipes out genetic variability int the host plant, it wipes out weeds (potential food crops). And it wipes out all kinds of pollinating insects. Can we live on corn and grasses alone? If we wipe out the pollinators we may find out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVryne4vFQk is a little more detail

and http://www.youtube.com/user/EatTheWeeds is about the many plants that we could eat if we knew more about them.

Oh poor us! The GMO monster is attacking!

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

And then reference youtube - that is an even bigger joke.

Congratulations! Hard to get so much drivel in one short post!

Russ

Do not be intimidated by russ123. The reference youtube video is one part of a 10 parter. Monsanto higher up employees seem to have discovered a back door into the fda.

We should not be allowing interested parties to influence and taint the decisions of food advisory groups anywhere.

There is a 6th great extinction of life on earth happening right now. Most are unintended. There is also an extreme pinching of genetic variability happening within species. Monoculture and monopoly seed production is clearly part of that pinching.

I am not intimidated and certainly don't want to intimidate anyone else.

You Tube videos as a reference or proof for anything are a sick joke - one can put up anything they want with zero accuracy.

Pinching of genetic variability? Is this a new mantra for the loony greens?

Sounds like a good product to export to China.The carp are rare in the wild over there, due to overfishing, but are considered a very delicious table fish.Or maybe we could get some Chinese fishermen to teach us how to overfish our carp?

When I was a kid, our neighbor presented my mom with a large carp, which my mom prepared and served for dinner to us and my aunt and uncle who were visiting. My uncle, the outdoorsman, exclaimed how delicious the baked fish tasted. I chimed in with "Its a carp, Mr. Smith (the neighbor) catches them by the big pipe that comes out into the river next to the sewerage plant!".

This evidently, was not good news.

Talk about being a wet blanket!

Can always do what Montana did with the white fish that I always considered a trash fish - declare them as game fish - end of problem.