Asian Carp Threaten Kentucky's Boating Industries

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  • Topher

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 8, 2008
    4,817
    Fredneck
    Start trading the rednecks Bud Light for an Asian Carp.
    Problem solved.

    Hell, I would fish for beer. :)
     

    Doctor_M

    Certified Mad Scientist
    MDS Supporter
    When I read the title, I had a mental picture of two carp in black suits, smoking cigars, going into a luxury office and saying something like. "Hey there, Mr. Jones. We is here from the neighborhood protection organization. This is a pretty nice industry, yous got here, Mr. Jones.... it would be a shame if someone were to come along and break it".
     

    gtodave

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 14, 2007
    14,176
    Mt Airy
    This has been a problem for decades, and it's only getting worse. Just to give you guys some perspective, here is a video of a recent electrofishing study showing just how dense these fish are in the river:



    I really hope the commercial fishery for these fish takes off. It's the only chance endemic fish have to survive. Otherwise, the only other option is to Rotenone the whole waterway and start over.
     

    willtill

    The Dude Abides
    MDS Supporter
    May 15, 2007
    24,337
    This has been a problem for decades, and it's only getting worse. Just to give you guys some perspective, here is a video of a recent electrofishing study showing just how dense these fish are in the river:



    I really hope the commercial fishery for these fish takes off. It's the only chance endemic fish have to survive. Otherwise, the only other option is to Rotenone the whole waterway and start over.


    Wow!

    .
     

    pbharvey

    Habitual Testifier
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    30,158
    I saw an article yesterday about carp threatening one of the Great Lakes
     
    This has been a problem for decades, and it's only getting worse. Just to give you guys some perspective, here is a video of a recent electrofishing study showing just how dense these fish are in the river:



    I really hope the commercial fishery for these fish takes off. It's the only chance endemic fish have to survive. Otherwise, the only other option is to Rotenone the whole waterway and start over.


    Commercial fishing for them is not economical. Common carp, buffalo and other bottom feeders bring in pennies per pound. Their boat needed to carry the tons of fish needed to make any money would eat all the profits in fuel. There is a book I read about harvesting invasive species for food is a good read about these and other aliens that have invaded the US, It's called Eating Aliens by Jackson Landers.

    We have our own invasive fish in Maryland which is going to become a real mess in the next 5-10 years. The Northern Snakehead is now found in nearly every river from the Potomac across the bay to the Nanticoke north on both sides of the bay. They have traveled through the C&D into the Delaware and are now being caught in the Schuylkill River in Philly. They have a insatiable appetite and will eat anything they can catch including small mammals, baby waterfowl and every species of native fish. They can grow up to 18" in their first year, are sexually mature at 2 years, spawn multiple times per season, lay over 100,000 eggs during their spawns and can double their population in 15 months. (to put it into perspective one female can create up to 12 million mature offspring in 3 years through generational reproduction) I caught several last week on the Middle and Gunpowder river up to six pounds. They can grow to over 15 pounds. Marine biologists claim that the finfish biomass in the Blackwater refuge is now 80-90% snakehead and they have decimated the population of perch, bass and sunfish. They will eat fish up to 2/3rds of their own length and can survive for days, maybe weeks in little to no water. The upside is that unlike the Asian Carp which is mediocre table fare at best, snakeheads are delicious..I rank them up there with flounder or sea bass. They have also recently been caught in Loch Raven above the dams and in little Seneca lake in MOCO. Because the lay so many eggs, waterfowl easy spread them so eventually they will find their way into most of the freshwater inpoundments...
     

    pbharvey

    Habitual Testifier
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    30,158
    We have our own invasive fish in Maryland which is going to become a real mess in the next 5-10 years. The Northern Snakehead is now found in nearly every river from the Potomac across the bay to the Nanticoke north on both sides of the bay. They have traveled through the C&D into the Delaware and are now being caught in the Schuylkill River in Philly. They have a insatiable appetite and will eat anything they can catch including small mammals, baby waterfowl and every species of native fish. They can grow up to 18" in their first year, are sexually mature at 2 years, spawn multiple times per season, lay over 100,000 eggs during their spawns and can double their population in 15 months. (to put it into perspective one female can create up to 12 million mature offspring in 3 years through generational reproduction) I caught several last week on the Middle and Gunpowder river up to six pounds. They can grow to over 15 pounds. Marine biologists claim that the finfish biomass in the Blackwater refuge is now 80-90% snakehead and they have decimated the population of perch, bass and sunfish. They will eat fish up to 2/3rds of their own length and can survive for days, maybe weeks in little to no water. The upside is that unlike the Asian Carp which is mediocre table fare at best, snakeheads are delicious..I rank them up there with flounder or sea bass. They have also recently been caught in Loch Raven above the dams and in little Seneca lake in MOCO. Because the lay so many eggs, waterfowl easy spread them so eventually they will find their way into most of the freshwater inpoundments...

    I've read that the snakehead panic is not as bad as once thought and in some areas the local fish population is not affected. No idea what the truth is though. I'm curious where you got your info from or if its just the same stuff we all keep repeating to each other? Serious question, I'm not doubting what you stated because really that is the majority opinion.
     
    I've read that the snakehead panic is not as bad as once thought and in some areas the local fish population is not affected. No idea what the truth is though. I'm curious where you got your info from or if its just the same stuff we all keep repeating to each other? Serious question, I'm not doubting what you stated because really that is the majority opinion.

    The reproduction numbers are from a study conducted by biologists studying them in the Potomac and comparing their information to the reproductive cycle in their native Asian countries. I will try to find the link when I get home. The other info is probably the same info that most of us have been spoon fed by the DNR. The commercial fishermen who use fike and pound nets on the Transquaken and Little Choptank rivers (like all comms) are required to log their harvested catch and their by catch. The numbers of juvinile bass, perch and crappie are at an all time low...In fact zero undersize largemouth bass have been reported in nearly 2 years....it's not looking good down there. I have caught several mature bass while fishing for snakeheads in the Middle and Gunpowder rivers but no undersize. The big snakeheads I caught last week had white and yellow perch in their stomachs. One 22 inch snakehead had a 7 inch yellow perch in it's stomach and a 25 inch snakehead had an 8" white perch in it's stomach. The issue isn't "right now" it's 5-10 years down the road where the population of snakeheads in so large that they eat a large portion of the native fish...the only saving grace is they also will eat their own. Last month they held a tournament for them down Blackwater for both rod and reel and bow fishing. One of the bow guys got a 27" snakehead with a 14" snakehead in it's stomach. The fish was so large it was hanging out of the big fish's mouth..
     

    pbharvey

    Habitual Testifier
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    30,158
    The reproduction numbers are from a study conducted by biologists studying them in the Potomac and comparing their information to the reproductive cycle in their native Asian countries. I will try to find the link when I get home. The other info is probably the same info that most of us have been spoon fed by the DNR. The commercial fishermen who use fike and pound nets on the Transquaken and Little Choptank rivers (like all comms) are required to log their harvested catch and their by catch. The numbers of juvinile bass, perch and crappie are at an all time low...In fact zero undersize largemouth bass have been reported in nearly 2 years....it's not looking good down there. I have caught several mature bass while fishing for snakeheads in the Middle and Gunpowder rivers but no undersize. The big snakeheads I caught last week had white and yellow perch in their stomachs. One 22 inch snakehead had a 7 inch yellow perch in it's stomach and a 25 inch snakehead had an 8" white perch in it's stomach. The issue isn't "right now" it's 5-10 years down the road where the population of snakeheads in so large that they eat a large portion of the native fish...the only saving grace is they also will eat their own. Last month they held a tournament for them down Blackwater for both rod and reel and bow fishing. One of the bow guys got a 27" snakehead with a 14" snakehead in it's stomach. The fish was so large it was hanging out of the big fish's mouth..

    Thanks I don't need chapter and verse I was really just curious. As much as I like killing and eating fish and game I equally enjoy doing my part to help them prosper. Not just so I can kill more but so that what I kill makes less of an overall impact (not that what I do personally impacts anything). I have yet to fish for Snakeheads. We were trying to get a kayak trip to Blackwater together but something else kept coming up and we haven't as of yet.
     
    Thanks I don't need chapter and verse I was really just curious. As much as I like killing and eating fish and game I equally enjoy doing my part to help them prosper. Not just so I can kill more but so that what I kill makes less of an overall impact (not that what I do personally impacts anything). I have yet to fish for Snakeheads. We were trying to get a kayak trip to Blackwater together but something else kept coming up and we haven't as of yet.

    C&R is legal. you aren't required to kill them. I've released a few small ones. DNR recommends killing them but it's not illegal to let them live. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out.
     

    pbharvey

    Habitual Testifier
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 27, 2012
    30,158
    C&R is legal. you aren't required to kill them. I've released a few small ones. DNR recommends killing them but it's not illegal to let them live. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out.

    Really? I thought it was illegal to possess a live snakehead in Maryland?
     

    gtodave

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 14, 2007
    14,176
    Mt Airy
    Really? I thought it was illegal to possess a live snakehead in Maryland?

    It is illegal to possess a LIVE snakehead in MD, which means it is legal to catch and release. Please kill them though. They really are that bad.

    Commercial fishing for them is not economical. Common carp, buffalo and other bottom feeders bring in pennies per pound. Their boat needed to carry the tons of fish needed to make any money would eat all the profits in fuel.

    If the market took off it would be economical, which is what I was hoping for. If the market for them got to even half of what Striped bass are here, you'd see a major reduction in their population in a matter of a couple years.
     

    Kimber45

    Active Member
    Jan 14, 2011
    875
    Whiteford
    I've read that the snakehead panic is not as bad as once thought and in some areas the local fish population is not affected. No idea what the truth is though. I'm curious where you got your info from or if its just the same stuff we all keep repeating to each other? Serious question, I'm not doubting what you stated because really that is the majority opinion.

    A few Snakeheads were caught in Lock Raven in the fishing center cove a couple weeks ago.
     

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