Tonights Starting Topic: 11/11/09

[Woodland Rivers]

The Asian Carp. Is it truly on its way here and what do you think will happen to our aquatic ecosystem?

I am certainly not a fisheries biologist but as a sportsman am worried about the impact of this particular species . I believe the fish have been found in the Mississippi River system so it is only a matter of time before they are widespread . Don't know if there is even a reasonable way to get rid of them without a huge impact on our native game fish populations . What impact will they have on our current game fish populations if left alone ? Clearly our water borders are as porous as our land borders. Problem is we Americans pay for all the intruders !

Like Downtown, I'm not a Biologist... but it is definitely here in the US. Mayne not in your local streams yet, but it won't be long.

I've watched several fishing shows where the host is bow-fishing for Asian Carp. There were literally hundreds of them jumping out of the water.

It is hard to tell what will happen to the local ecosystems. Zebra Mussels were supposed to be the next "plague" for Lake Erie several years ago (decade +). From what I have heard and seen - they are the result of cleaning up the water in Lake Erie by leaps and bounds (and the efforts of the DNR and EPA). The same story can be reiterated with those God awful Goby's. They arrived many years ago and were feared like the Zebra Mussels - they have quickly become a favored food in the food chain for Smallmouth and Walleye.

Time will tell what will happen with the Asian Carp.
Me, personally... I'll kill the stinking things until the professionals tell us that they (carp) are beneficial to the ecosystem.

That's my 2¢ - Change please!