The stranded grass carp in JB
What should we do about the carp in JB?
Grass carp are not indigenous to the millpond. They were actually released there to control some of the aquatic vegitation. The carp in the millpond are not your typical grass carp. They have actually been sterilized so they are not able to breed. Grass carp that are capable of breeding can actually destroy a pond and fertile carp are considered a nuisance species for this reason.
It is no secret that a fish that size would be a feast for the troglobites of JB. A fish this size needs to eat and it is possible that the carp is eating the very creatures that will feed on him once dead.
Grass carp could easily be called the bovine of freshwater fish. Left to there own devices, they do 2 things: eat (primarily vegitation) and consume oxygen. Spring water is notoriously low in disolved oxygen and the low oxygen levels are not condusive for a fish that is suited to live in water with lots of aquatic plants (that produce oxygen).
Therefore, if nothing is done, this fish WILL die. He is not capable of survival in a cave. Furthermore, this fish would never have been anywhere near JB if humans had not intervened. There is also a possibly this fish is harming the fragile cave environment especially if he is feeding on troglobites. His ultimate death would provide the troglobites with food.
As it stands, this fish could be having a negative effect in the fragile ecosystem of JB. If this fish dies in the cave, his corpse will have a positive effect on the cave. If removed from the cave, the potential damage that a hungry fish could cause would be averted but there would be none of the benifits that would be derived from a large fish corpse in an environment that is not used to having an abundance of food. If returned to the millpond he may recover from this event and go back to eating aquatic vegitation. There is also a possibility that he is too ill from lack of food and oxygen and will die in spite of being returned to an eviorment with an abundance of oxygen and vegitation.
So what should we do?
Asian Carp: It's what's for dinner
http://blogs.citypages.com/food/2010...n_carp_its.php
the Vietnamese cook carp in coconut milk with lemon grass and chili peppers, the Polish soak it in milk and onions--and Illinois' Schafer Fisheries, which processes 12 million pounds of carp a year, most of which is shipped to China, Japan, Canada, and Europe, plus a few ethnic restaurants and markets in major U.S. cities. (In 2006, Schafer discussed the idea of feeding carp meat to feed prisoners with Springfield legislators, but the response was tepid.)
Save the cave carp t-shirt
Quote:
Originally Posted by
hunabku
NOW IN STOCK!
The Save the Cave Carp T-shirt as requested!
Credit was given to CDF-Hunabku on the picture and price is at cost via CafePress (no markup).
Hunabku - please let me know if you want it removed.
