Invasive bighead and silver carps and the Great Lakes: evaluation of alternative natural food sources for the invading carp.

Duration

August 2010 - September 2013

Narrative

Non-native bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (H. molitrix) (together, the “bigheaded carps”) were imported to the United States in the 1970s. They escaped captivity, spread, and increasingly dominate Midwestern waterways. The Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association considers these Asian carps the most important invasive species in the basin. There is tremendous concern that these fishes will invade the Laurentian Great Lakes and have undesirable effects on existing fisheries.