Grass carp (image via USFWS)
There are extensive efforts underway to keep invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. But one variety has already been popping up there for over 30 years.
For decades, people have used sterilized grass carp to control pond vegetation. Over time, some of those fish have escaped to the Great Lakes. Because they could not reproduce, it was not a major cause for concern.
But John Dettmers, of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, says there’s been an ominous change.
“Reproducing grass carp have been found in the last five years in Lake Erie,” he says.
That’s alarming, because a growing population of the voracious plant-eaters could do tremendous damage to aquatic plants and fish habitat.
Get Schooled:
- Learn more about the grass carp, from the State of Michigan.
- Read more about the discovery of grass carp eggs in a Lake Erie tributary, from Great Lakes Today.
- Check out a detailed study on grass carp in the Great Lakes, in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
The fine print:
- This segment was produced in partnership with Cornell University’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future
