Азия саздабағы: Түрлері, қауіптері мен тарихы

Common name for several species of fish

Asian carp is a grouping of fishes commonly used to mean silver, bighead carp, white and black amur,refn | group=note | The definition of Asian carp can be found including common carp as well, as in Koel et al. (2000). Asian carp are big fish, According to the Environmental Protection Agency, "reported injuries include cuts from fins, black eyes, broken bones, back injuries, and concussions". This behavior has sometimes been attributed to the very similar bighead carp, but these do not normally jump when frightened.

The grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), and black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) as well as common carp (Cyprinus carpio) are popular targets for recreational fisherman in the Midwest, despite their status of being an invasive species. These species are unique because of their ability to be caught with the traditional fishing technique of using a fishing rod, reel and a hook. Other invasive carp species – the Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) are not traditionally caught on rod and reel because they feed on plankton, therefore they do not bite on baited hooks or lures.

Asian carp have been a popular food fish in Asia for thousands of years. In North America, the various Asian carp are often lumped with the common carp and seen as undesirable trash fish because of the unpopularity of common carp as food in this region. Furthermore, even the common carp, which was introduced to North America from Europe in the 17th century, are important food fish outside North America. The pearly white flesh — though complicated by intermuscular bones — has a mild taste.

In the late 19th century, the common carp was distributed widely throughout the United States by the United States Fish Commission as a foodfish. In the 1970s, fish farmers in mostly southern states began importing Asian carp from China to help clean their commercial ponds. The rise in the populations of bighead and silver carp has been dramatic where they are established in the Mississippi River basin. Because of their prominence, and because they were imported to the United States much later than other carp native to Asia, the term "Asian carp" is often used with the intended meaning of only grass, black, silver, and bighead carp. In the U. S., Asian carp are considered to be invasive species. Of the Asian carp introduced to the United States, only two (crucian and black carp) are not known to be firmly established. Crucian carp is probably extirpated. Since 2003, however, several adults, fertile black carp have been captured from the Atchafalaya and other rivers connected to the Mississippi River. Dr. Leo Nico, in the book Black carp: Biological Synopsis and Risk Assessment of an Introduced Fish, reports that black carp are probably established in the United States. In South Florida, the local water management district actually stocks the canals with sterilized grass carp to control the hydrilla plant, which tends to block the locks and drainage valves used to control water flow from the Everglades.

Bighead, silver, and grass carp are known to be well established in the Mississippi River basin (including tributaries), where they at times reach extremely high numbers, especially in the case of the bighead and silver carp. Bighead, silver, and grass carp have been captured in that watershed from Louisiana to South Dakota, Minnesota, and Ohio. Grass carp are also established in at least one other watershed, in Texas, and may be established elsewhere. Grass carp have been captured in all of the Great Lakes except Lake Superior, but so far, no evidence indicates a reproducing population. No silver carp or black carp have yet been found in any of the Great Lakes. Common carp are abundant throughout the Great Lakes. A few bighead and grass carp have been captured in Canada's portions of the Great Lakes, but no Asian carp (other than common carp) is known to be established in Canada at this time. Concerns exist that the silver carp may spread into Cypress Hills in Alberta and Saskatchewan through Battle Creek, the Frenchman River, and other rivers flowing south out of the hills into the Milk River. Ontario does not have Asian carp yet and has used the provincial Invasive Species Act to prohibit their import. In Mexico, grass carp have been established for many years in at least two river systems, where they are considered invasive, but no other Asian carp are known to have been introduced.

These fish are thought to be highly detrimental to the environment in parts of the United States. Because of these concerns, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service convened stakeholders to develop a national plan for the management and control of invasive Asian carp (referring to bighead, silver, black, and grass carp). The plan was accepted by the National Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force in the fall of 2007. As of 2016, efforts were being made to reintroduce alligator gar between Tennessee and Illinois as part of an effort to control Asian carp. In 2019 the Kentucky declared "War on Carp" and started to use electro fishing and sonic devices to remove 5 million pounds of Asian carp from Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake. Electro fishing has become an extensive technique in population management of Asian carp throughout the Midwest's river systems. It involves the use of electric waves that stun (non lethally) the invasive fish at the surface of the water, where fisherman can then corral them into net and remove from the ecosystem. Electro fishing is also safe for the native species of fish that cohabit the waters where it is implemented, because they avoid the electro fishing boats by diving deeper into the water column, where as the carp jump near the surface, getting stunned in the process. There have been conclusive results that have proven electro fishing to be an effective and efficient way to manage the Asian carp invasion in Midwestern waterways. A typical electro fishing boat can shock 100 carp per minute of fishing utilizing 110 500 volts of electricity, the fish captured are then humanely killed, and used as food or fertilizer for crops. However, the technique has sparked questions about potential negative impacts that it may have on the rivers' ecosystems. If electro fishing boats go over spawning grounds for native fish, it could potentially cause harm to fish embryos.

In June 2022, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources announced a campaign to rebrand Asian carp as Copi, which is a clipping of "copious", referring to the large amount of the fish in the US. The Copi renaming is a part of a Federal and state initiative to get the public to eat the invasive fish, decrease its numbers in Midwestern waterways, and prevent its introduction to the Great Lakes. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) is funding the Copi rebrand of Asian carp.