![]() ![]() Grass carp have already entered Lake Erie and caused some damage, but other varieties of carp that have not yet been found in the Great Lakes pose a larger threat. ![]() “If these fish get in, everybody is estimating that it will devastate the Great Lakes fisheries,” says Jim Dexter, who led the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (Michigan DNR) Fisheries Division until his retirement last month. Not only could their takeover be an ecological catastrophe, but a full-blown carp invasion could also be detrimental to local economies by destroying the Great Lakes fishing industry, which produces approximately $7 billion in revenue annually. Now, government officials and ecologists are waging a massive battle to keep carp out of the Great Lakes, where they could be devastating. Black, bighead, grass and silver carp occupy numerous lakes, rivers and streams. Since then, carp have traveled to every state in the continental United States. During a flooding event, carp escaped into nearby waterways. ![]() ![]() In the 1970s, carp were introduced to wastewater and aquaculture facilities in Arkansas as a sort of natural vacuum cleaner to remove parasites and weeds. The filter feeders eat plankton and small fish, outcompeting other fish for food. The fish can withstand a variety of environments, survive for decades and lay millions of eggs, which allows them to supplant native species. Invasive carp are swimming north through American waterways and wreaking havoc on ecosystems. ![]()
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