Many of you have no doubt heard of the Asian Carp. This nonnative fish is notorious for swimming in large schools and devouring everything in sight. They leave little, if any, food for the fish that are native to the waters. What is worse is that the Asian Carp have little nutritional value so they can't be used as food. Over the course of several years, the fish have been increasing in population exponentially. They have no natural predators so their population continues to increase. Due to the population increase, the carp have sought out new places to live. Organizations have been devising ways to stop the spread of these fish. For example, on the James River an electric barrier has been set up to keep fish from crossing. When an Asian Carp tries to cross it, it will receive a small shock which will cause it to swim away. This works very well for rivers, however, for large bodies of water, such as lakes, it is too large for a barrier to be set up. A new means of containing the fish must be devised for lakes or ponds. I feel more organizations should be trying to help contain these fish. More and more native fish are dying do to the lack of food. If these native fish become extinct, it will have a crippling effect on many ecosystems.
David I agree. The extinction of animals is a very serious issue that needs to be dealt with carefully. The barriers that are being built are an excellent way in stopping the Asian Carp from moving to other bodies of water. I think if more funding is needed to finish the barriers around any body of water it should be given. Ecosystems rely on the balance of the organisms within itself. If the Asian Carp are eating organisms to extinction, the ecosystem could become out of control. It is important that the organizations that are building these barriers get the proper funding for this project to save the ecosystems the Asian Carp are invading.
ReplyDelete