No, this is not fly fishing related but when a fish over 100 pounds is caught in Missouri, I think that is worth sharing. I had no idea that Asian carp, which are an invasive species, could get this big. Bighead carp and all other species are considered invasive and people are encouraged to harvest Asian carp especially. The biggest reason that these fish are troublesome to Missouri ecosystems is because they are filter feeders. They feed on plankton and small food sources which small, native fish rely on. These small fish are vital members of the food chain and when they cannot compete with large fish and/or large populations of Asian carp, the small fish numbers will dwindle and the species of fish that rely on them as a food source will be effected in a negative manner. In other words, do you want bass, walleye, hybrid stripers, white bass, and smallmouth bass or do you want Asian carp? There is a link below to the story of the record fish as well as a link to information about carp from the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Record Fish Link: https://mdc.mo.gov/newsroom/perry-county-bowfisherman-catches-world-record-sized-bighead-carp
Carp Information Link: https://mdc.mo.gov/fishing/species/carp
No comments:
Post a Comment