Tighter regulations have been placed on a type of Asian carp to prevent it from spreading from the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes.
To the untrained eye, a bighead carp could be mistaken for a salmon, except it has a large head and low set eyes. The fish is now federally listed as injurious wildlife, meaning the bighead carp could be harmful to the environment.
President Obama signed the Asian Carp and Prevention Control Act in December, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published its final rule this week and will now enforce it. Under the Lacey Act, live bighead carp cannot be imported or transported over state lines. People can still fish for the species if they keep it in their state.
The bighead carp has been found in the Mississippi River as far north as the St. Croix River. One reason for listing the species as injurious is to keep it out of the Great Lakes, where populations have yet to show up.
Nate Caswell is an Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He says bighead carp compete with native bottom feeder species that eat plankton. Caswell says "just about every species, regardless what it ultimately feeds on as an adult, in the larval and juvenile stages, may also feed on zooplankton. So, not only will the bighead carp compete with native filter feeders, but with just about every species that relies on those food sources in the early stage of its life."
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Other types of Asian carp were listed as injurious in 2007. The bighead was not included then because of the economic effects on the aquaculture industry.
