Annual Mississippi Carp Die-off Stinks Up Lakes
OutdoorHub Reporters 09.04.13
Anglers and conservationists are doing their best to reduce the amount of Asian carp in the Mississippi River, but the fast-growing fish show no signs of stopping. Once every year however, some of the river’s surrounding lakes naturally cause a massive carp die-off, resulting in many thousands of the invasive fish floating to the surface. While anglers are eager to protect the native fish that the carp are out-competing, the die-off is not an event they are looking forward to. According to the Clarion-Ledger, areas such as Lake Chotard are now choked with the dead fish.
“It stinks like hell,” said Eagle Bend resident David Thornton. “There are dead carp on the banks and some in the water that just died.”
Thornton had planned on fishing in Lake Chotard, but the accumulation of dead carp over several weeks made the trip an odorous nightmare. Carp die-offs are not rare and can be attributed to anything from harmful bacteria to environmental conditions. Officials with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks say that it is an annual event for the area.
“We always see that this time of year,” said John Skains, a fisheries biologist. “You’ll see die-offs up and down the river.”
The cause seems to be a lower amount of oxygen caused by seasonal weather changes, affecting large fish such as carp.
The Mississippi River was the first main waterway that the invasive carp colonized after escaping from aquaculture farms in the late 1960s, where they were imported for their cleaning abilities. The fish adapted quickly to American waters and soon became a threat to local fishermen and recreational anglers. Now, federal agencies are attempting to keep the carp from entering the vulnerable Great Lakes.
The annual die-off provides a temporary relief but also brings to light just how much of an impact Asian carp have had on the Mississippi River.
“The silver and big head carp probably represent the dominant bio-mass in these rivers,” said Jack Kilgore, a researcher at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Research and Development Center in Vicksburg.
Having out-competed other fish, carp species now claim an overwhelming majority of the fish population in the Mississippi River. This includes the common carp, a non-native fish introduced to North America long before its more notorious bighead and silver cousins. Their access to the Mississippi allows them to reach 31 states and 40 percent of the continental United States. Asian carp have been found as far away as Minnesota. Unfortunately, the annual die-off leaves little permanent damage to the carp population.
“They have tremendous reproductive potential,” Kilgore commented, saying that he believes the carp will bounce back soon.
State and federal agencies are monitoring the Mississippi River and its surroundings in search of methods to halt the spread of carp. According to the National Park Service, most of these efforts go towards advancing barrier technologies. While containing the spread of Asian carp is vital to protecting unaffected waterways, the large amount of carp already in the Mississippi continue to be a headache for all involved. For the area’s anglers, anything that reduces the number of carp is a good thing.
