Essay on Invasive Species: Asian Carp

Asian Carp have invaded our lakes and rivers in Kentucky over the past twenty-five years. This infestation has caused a major crisis and has had a huge biological impact on the native species of fish in our waterways. Asian Carp are not native to the waters of our region. In the past, local farmers were allowed to populate these fish in their ponds to help combat the algae problem for their locally grown catfish on their farms. As the demand for locally grown catfish has increased over the years, so needs quality and clean ponds on farms to support this industry. The introduction of Asian Carp to local farms started in the 1960’s. What environmentalists did not foresee is that local farm ponds could not sustain this species of fish over time. When flooding occurs, these fish are swept out of local ponds and dumped into local streams and rivers. Asian Carp breed and migrate quickly and over many years they finally ended up in Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Over the past ten years, this spread of this species of fish has not only become a nuisance but is now threatening the native species of fish that exist in our lakes and rivers. The issue has become epidemic in the past few years as the fishing industry is seeing dramatic reductions in the harvesting of the fish that exist in our region. These Asian Carp are destroying our native fish populations and the devastating problem is now being addressed in a major way.

The Asian Carp is native to China and many other environments in the Southeast Asia area of the world. In past centuries, our region of the country never saw the existence of these fishes. Asian Carp compete for food and space as done any species of fish but at a much higher rate than the native fish we have in Kentucky. This issue has not been limited to Kentucky waterways but is a problem in all the lower Mississippi and Ohio River waterways. The problem first came to light more physically as these fish began to leap from the water and became visible to boaters as they were enjoying our lakes and rivers. Asian Carp have been known to leap up out of the water to a height of as much as ten feet in the air. This became a major issue for boaters and fishermen as they travel our lakes and rivers at high rates of speed. Many people have been hurt over the years being hit with leaping fish as they sped down the lakes. Asian Carp are very sensitive to light and noise and boats cause them to jump from the waters in response to the noise they feel in the water. The physical danger of these fish was seen during the early days of the infestation but the long-term effects of them on our ecosystem have just recently come to light as our native fish populations have started to deplete. This could be devastating to the fishing and tourist industries for our region as millions of dollars of revenue are at stake, not to mention the biological impacts. The focus in the past few years has been the eradication of this species of fish. This has turned out to be a huge undertaking as it is an eradication program aimed at the Asian Carp species, not that of other native fish species in our waterways.

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Asian Carp are not as much a problem in their native lands as they are in our environments. Asian Carp are a big species of fish and grow very large. To sustain their life and size, they need a lot of space and a lot of food sources. The problem in our local waterways is that there is only a fixed amount of space and ultimately only a fixed amount of food at one time. Our native fish have competed for this space and these food sources for many years. With the introduction of Asian Carp, the local ecosystem has become very disturbed. Environmentalists have seen drastic reductions in the populations of native fish as the Asian Carp have taken over their habitats and deprived them of life-sustaining food. They are killing and destroying our native fish populations as they breed and grow in huge numbers. Not only do they take from the food supply, but they also destroy the habitat of much-needed mussels and nutrient suppliers to the water. Asian Carp have lowered the overall water quality in our lakes and rivers. As the water quality, has decreased, so has the nutrient base within our waters to sustain the native fish species. By lowering the water quality, it is proving hard for our native fish to survive without these key nutrient bases. Not only is it a space and food issue, but it is an environmental issue also with the decrease in water quality.

Isolating the Asian Carp species has been the approach that Conservationists have taken in Kentucky. Dams in our area release millions of gallons of water into lower rivers and streams. The point of release at the dam and lock site has become an area where our Fish and Wildlife workers have tried to contain these fish in a larger body of water. One possible deterrent to these fish has been what is called a bio-acoustical fence. The BAFF, as it is referred to, is installed near the locks of dams to keep the fish from entering the lower reservoirs. The Kentucky Department for Fish and Wildlife has installed many of these BAFF units in the past two years as a deterrent for the movement of these fish. The BAFF system uses a combination of bubbles, light, and sound to deter the movement of the Asian Carp species. Using trenches that are dug into the bottom of the waterway, these systems are built and positioned near spillways so that when charged they can repel or cause the fish to retreat into the upper waterway. Because this species of fish is so reactive to light and sound, it has been shown that they retreat in a very quick manner and do not end up passing the BAFF system and ending up downstream in lower reservoirs. The logic of thinking is that if these fish are kept out of the lower waterways, they can be contained in regions or specific bays of the larger waterways such as Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. This method of deterrent is meant for containment rather than eradication. Fish and wildlife agents have seen this as a first-step approach and are looking to other means to eradicate the fish after they are contained. Using the BAFF system has shown promising results in the lower waterways. If the fish are not allowed to migrate into lower waterways, then native species of fish are allowed to have more ecological room to feed and increase their populations again.

Once there has been an effort to contain the fish, Fish, and Wildlife workers now have turned to another means for the complete eradication of the Asian Carp. Asian Carp are very reactionary and sensitive fish. By using sonar detection, these fish can be seen on sonar once they are isolated to a specific area. Fish and Wildlife workers have now seen that, by using electricity, they can stun Asian Carp and render them paralyzed for some time as they then rise to the top of the water. In recent months, many boats have been deployed to different bays within the lake so that an electrode can be dropped into a large school or group of these fish. After deployment of the “electrocution stick” the electrode is charged with electricity and a large amount of voltage is applied. Within seconds, hundreds of paralyzed Asian Carp float to the surface of the water and workers are then able to scoop them up with nets and bring them into the boats. The fish can then be taken to a local fishery where they are sold or disposed of ethically. This method has shown positive effects in our lakes and there has been an increase in this type of eradication for the Asian Carp species.

With the Asian Carp problem becoming more of an ecological issue over the years, Kentucky turned to the harvesting of these fish to decrease the population along with providing a market for the actual fish. Governor Matt Bevin signed the first-ever Fish House contract in 2018. A company in Wickliffe, KY became the first fish house to partner with the State of Kentucky for the intake and processing of Asian Carp from local Anglers. The contract guarantees that the Anglers will receive 19 cents per pound for Asian Carp and the State of Kentucky supplements the fish house with revenue to help the local fishing industry and the harvesting of the nuisance fish in an attempt to preserve the livelihood of fishermen and their families. The Asian Carp are sold at auctions in these fish houses and are bought by commercial industries all over the country. Some of the fish is sold for human consumption but a large part of the fish are sold for filler ingredients in many foods for pets and livestock. These contracts with the state have been successful and it is fixing the problem in two different ways. It keeps fishermen in business as fishing for their native species of fish has decreased yet it also rids our waterways of the infestation of this large fish.

Being a lifelong resident of Kentucky and growing up on these waters, this infestation is destroying our lakes and rivers as we know them. It is virtually impossible to navigate the waters of Kentucky Lake or Lake Barkley without being hit by a jumping Asian Carp. Not only being hit but seriously injured. Many people have been injured over the past years by being hit by a ten-pound lunging and flying fish. This has taken away from the enjoyment of boating and such activities as skiing and tubing on the lake. It has become a major safety issue. Also, being an avid Angler, fishing on the local waterways has been majorly affected. There are fewer native species of fish and fishing for bass and crappie has become much harder. Asian Carp have rooted out these species of fish and it is affecting the fishing industry. This region can not have its fishing industry and the ecosystem of its waterways destroyed by such an invasive species.

We must find a solution for this invasion of Asian Carp very soon. Our waterways can not sustain this amount of damage for an extended period. Many gains have been made in the eradication of this species of fish, and native populations of fish are returning in numbers, but there is still too large a population of Asian Carp. We enjoy the waterways of Kentucky for the native ecosystems that exist, and I am afraid if the effort is not increased, the ecosystem will not exist as we know it today. That will have remarkable biological and economic changes for the region as we know it. Fish and Wildlife workers need to be encouraged for the work that they are doing and further research is needed in the study of this epidemic.

1. Precht, D. (2018, September 28). Kentucky Lake's Asian carp crisis. Retrieved from https://www.bassmaster.com/conservation-news/kentucky-lake-s-asian-carp-crisis
2. Wired2Fish Editors •Jul 31. (2019, August 1). Asian Carp Herded in Demonstration for New Bio-acoustic Fish Fence. Retrieved from https://www.wired2fish.com/news/asian-carp-herded-in-demonstration-for-new-bio-acoustic-fish-fence/
3. Moore, C. (2019, February 11). Will Scaring Asian Carp Prevent them from Spreading? Retrieved from https://www.outdoorlife.com/will-scaring-asian-carp-prevent-them-from-spreading/
4. Deppen, L. (2019, July 31). This video shows just how many Asian carp are invading Kentucky lakes. Retrieved from https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2019/07/31/kentucky-shock-invasive-asian-carp-out-lake-barkley/1876569001/
5. Zdanowicz, C. (2019, August 1). Kentucky is using 'shocking' boats to show just how bad its Asian carp problem is. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/31/us/asian-carp-kentucky-scn-trnd/index.html