You've got to be kidding, leaping carp?

From staff and wire reports




Associated Press

Silver carp, like this one in the Missouri River, were brought to the United
States from Asia about 30 years ago.

ST. LOUIS - For years, boaters and fishermen on many midwestern rivers have
battled a fish with a bizarre behavior: silver carp that launch themselves into
the air, jumping into boats and often slapping the unsuspecting upside the head.

"They can break your nose or knock you out of the boat," said Duane Chapman, a
fisheries biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

The carp, brought to the United States from Asia by private fish farmers 30
years ago, are more than a nuisance to people. They and their non-jumping
relative, the bighead carp, compete with native fish for food such as
paddlefish, bigmouth buffalo and gizzard shad.

They have established themselves in parts of the Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio and
Illinois rivers.

Silver carp are rare in the Cincinnati area of the Ohio River, according to
biologists with the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission.

"They're pretty abundant in the lower part of the river around Paducah, but
they're not common up here," said biologist Jeff Thomas. "We did see one last
year around the Markland Dam. Other than that, I haven't heard any reports of
them around Cincinnati."

However, that could change in a few years.

"They seem to be gradually working their way upstream," said Thomas. "If water
conditions are right for them up here, we may see them in a couple of years."

Thomas said the river temperature is cooler and the water is clearer in the
Cincinnati area than it is down river.

"We're not really sure which factors are most critical for silver carp," said
Erich Emery, another ORSANCO biologist. "Only time will tell if the conditions
here are conducive to them. They do seem to like to breed in sluggish, backwater
areas and there are more of those areas down river than here."

There's little profit for commercial fishermen in harvesting the fish. But the
St. Louis Zoo may be the answer to that dilemma.

Rob Hayward, a University of Missouri-Columbia fisheries researcher, and Chapman
are part of a team of researchers seeking to create a carp product to feed to
zoo animals.

"We want to make good food of bad fish," said Ellen Dierenfeld, staff
nutritionist at the zoo.

The zoo, one of the nation's largest, annually purchases as feed more than 60
tons of fish - mostly marine species such as mackerel, herring and capelin.
Prices range from 30 cents to 70 cents per pound, and zoo officials believe they
could save money by feeding the carp to animals.

Dierenfeld believes up to 25 percent of the fish feed could be replaced with
carp.

"This would help reduce pressures on marine fisheries and help solve the Asian
carp problem," she said.

And if the more than 200 accredited U.S. zoos did likewise, commercial fishermen
would have a reason to harvest the nuisance fish.

University of Missouri-Columbia food scientist Andrew Clarke has developed a
"carp cake" made from raw, ground fish, a process that allows different size
feed for different animals. Dierenfeld said vitamins and mineral supplements
could be added to the carp cake.

Dierenfeld hopes to begin a pilot feeding study with penguins, sea lions and
pelicans by next spring. Other zoos may also participate, she said.

The Cincinnati Zoo is not currently a candidate for the program.

"We've heard of it, but we have no plans for it at this time," said Cincinnati
Zoo spokeswoman Barbara Risch..

Asian carp were imported in the 1970s as a way to control algae and plankton in
fish ponds. But during the floods of 1993 and 1995, the fish made their way into
the wild.

It is believed the silver carp jump out of the water as a flight response when
disturbed - possibly by the sound of boat motors.

The high-jumping fish can be so dangerous that Missouri Department of
Conservation staff wear head gear for protection while motoring on fast-moving
boats. Some state boats have protective netting around the driver area and
across the bow.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last month published a proposed rule to ban
the import and interstate transport of silver carp.



Publication date: 10-23-2006

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