This is a huge issue for many reasons. Non-native Asian carp are moving upstream, and have now been found in Lake Pepin. Authorities don’t think this was part of a breeding population, but the implications are massive if they are not brought under control.
Bighead and silver carp were brought over to help clean up water in southern fish farms, but soon escaped and are extending their range. They overpower the local ecosystem once they come in, and I consider these fish to be the kudzu of the Mississippi River basin.
“Bighead carp are one of several types of Asian carp that were imported to the United States more than three decades ago, escaped into the wild and now threaten to overwhelm native fish populations in the Mississippi River watershed. They have taken over large portions of the Illinois and Missouri rivers and are becoming increasingly common in the Mississippi as far north as central Iowa.”
This Asian carp found in Lake Pepin was caught by a commercial fisherman, and weighed almost 30 pounds.
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_7122483
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