Invasive Carp

An invasive species, Asian carp, have been steadily migrating north through the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers. Recently they have threatened to breach the Great Lakes ecosystems. This could pose a problem, as adult Asian carp weigh in at 45 kilograms and eat 5 to 20 percent of their body weight each day. Asian carp could devastate the Great Lakes ecosystem by eating the food source of the native fish. This would also effect the commercial and sport fishing industries.

The US Army Corps of Engineers looked into ways to keep these fish from reaching the Great Lakes. They have decided to place an electronic barrier and complex noises at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River in Joliet, Illinois. The low voltage, pulsing direct current will not only make the fish uncomfortable and deliver a shock if they get to close, it will also disrupt their ability to maintain their position in the water current. The complex noises will aggravate the sensory mechanisms in the fish.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/great-lakes-defenders-have-a-shocking-idea-to-stave-off-invasive-carp/

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 27, 2017 at 10:52 AM

    This article was interesting to me since I go fishing often and hear about invasive species. I recently learned that there was also environmental DNA from Asian carp found in water samples found taken from parts of the Ohio River in Pennsylvania. This article shows that the problem is in different parts of the country. I think that the US Army Corps of Engineers' proposed solution to the problem is a good idea and a different kind of approach than ones that we would normally take to solve invasive species issues.

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