Carp
Carp are large-scaled fish found across Europe, Asia, and North America, recognized for their popularity as pond fish and their role as an invasive species outside their native regions. They exhibit diverse varieties due to selective breeding, displaying a range of colors and shapes. Typically, carp can reach lengths of around 14 inches (35 centimeters), but some individuals can grow over 39 inches (100 centimeters) and weigh up to 49 pounds (22 kilograms). These fish have a unique feeding mechanism, using barbels or whiskers to locate prey in the mud, and are omnivorous, consuming a diet that includes worms, shrimp, and aquatic plants.
Carp prefer shallow, sunny freshwater environments, avoiding fast-moving waters. They have a notable history with humans, having been referenced as early as 550 BCE by Aristotle and commonly served during Christmas in central and eastern Europe. Their reproduction occurs in spring and summer, with a single female capable of laying up to one million eggs. Interestingly, while common carp are threatened in their native habitats, they have become invasive in North America, prompting governmental efforts to control their populations, particularly in the Great Lakes and Mississippi River. Conservation measures are ongoing to prevent further spread and protect local ecosystems from the impacts of invasive carp species.
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Carp
Carp are well-known large-scaled fish throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. It is one of the world's most popular pond fish, but a problematic invasive species outside its native habitat. As a subject of selective breeding, carp varieties are available in many colors and shapes.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Cyprinus
Species: Various (see below)
The average carp species reaches 14 inches (35 centimeters) but some may grow to more than 39 inches (100 centimeters) long and weigh up to 49 pounds (22 kilograms). Unlike some fish, carp do not have true teeth. They crush their prey in their throats. Like many catfish, carp have two barbels, or whiskers, hanging from the corners of their mouths.
Carp have many fins which help them swim through the water. Their dorsal and anal, or back and belly, fins help keep them balanced, while their caudal, or tail, fins move from side to side to help propel them through the water. Carp also paddle with their pairs of pectoral and pelvic fins to help propel themselves.
Like other fish, carp need oxygen to survive. Since they do not have lungs and cannot process oxygen like humans, carp must find the oxygen they need from the water. Carp take water into their mouths, use the oxygen they need, and filter the waste chemicals out through the gills on the sides of their bodies.
Carp live in freshwater rivers, pools, and lakes throughout most of North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as parts of Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. They avoid fast-moving waters and shady or cool areas, preferring to stay in shallow, sunny waters with plenty of mud and plant life.
As omnivores, or animals that eat meat and plants, carp feed on worms, shrimp, water snails, freshwater mussels, aquatic insects, nymphs, and plant matter. Carp use their barbels, or whiskers, to help them find their prey. They slide their barbels through the mud searching for worms and other life forms. Pike, bass, birds, mammals, and large reptiles prey on carp.
Carp have had a long association with humans. The earliest known reference to carp was made by Aristotle in 550 BCE. Carp are served for Christmas dinner in much of central and eastern Europe.
Mating for carp takes place in shallow waters in the spring and summer. A single 8 or 9-pound female carp may lay up to one million eggs. These eggs are usually deposited on the leaves of aquatic, or water-living, plants. Male carp swim over these eggs and fertilize them. The process of depositing and fertilizing eggs is known as spawning. After three to eight days, the fry, or young fish, hatch. They remain in shallow water for a few more days. They reach maturity after three years and have an average life span of 40 years in captivity.
Carp became an invasive species in North America in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The government of Ontario, Canada, began efforts to control invasive species of carp in the Great Lakes in 1992. The United States Department of Agriculture lists the common carp as a pest fish and considers the silver carp, grass carp, black carp, and bighead carp invasive species. Carp are particularly problematic in the Mississippi River, where they deprive endemic fish of their food source. Beginning in 2010, the United States Geological Survey launched efforts to prevent and control the entry of invasive carp into the Great Lakes, the Ohio River Basin, and the Upper Mississippi River Basin. In 2022, the United States Environmental Protection Agency found that the efforts of multiple federal agencies had prevented bighead carp, black carp, and silver carp from establishing populations in the Great Lakes. In early 2024, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced a multi-billion dollar plan to build a series of barricades to prevent carp from invading Lake Michigan from the waterways of Illinois. Conversely, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) populations in their natural Eurasian habitat are threatened. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) lists the species as threatened.
Bibliography
"Invasive Carp." National Invasive Species Information Center, United States Department of Agriculture, www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/aquatic/fish-and-other-vertebrates/invasive-carp. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.
"Invasive Species in the Great Lakes." United States Environmental Protection Agency, 4 Dec. 2023, www.epa.gov/greatlakes/invasive-species-great-lakes-0. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.
McKay, Bethany. "Carp." A-Z Animals, 15 May 2023, a-z-animals.com/animals/carp. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.
Ramirez-Franco, Juanpablo. "Army Corps Plans $1 Billion Barricade to Deter Invasive Carp at Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers." Great Lakes Now, 24 Jan. 2024, www.greatlakesnow.org/2024/01/army-corps-plans-1-billion-barricade-to-deter-invasive-carp-at-illinois-and-des-plaines-rivers. Accessed 25 Mar. 2024.