Prussian Carp by catch

[parfleche]

Last year , I had a set for Beaver , a 330 body grip under water in a run . It was about two feet below surface.
Every day I checked and nothing appeared disturbed . After seeing nothing being caught , I decided to pull said trap, And there to my amazement was a FISH caught by the tail in this gadget!
Only problem was , It was not a fish I recognized from before . I took a few pictures and dispatched the critter. After showing this fish to F&W . They deducted it was a Prussian Carp , An invasive species to our waters.
This body of water was off the Red Deer river and the only way it could have come in was from the prior flood.To this day I have not tried fishing for this fish , so dont know how many were in there. BUT this week checking traps in a tributary I saw another in clear water swim out from a Beaver run near a lodge .
Apparently they are numerous in the Blindman , the Medicine etc , even in farm dugouts etc. anyone else ?

[canross]

I'm friends with someone studying prussian carp - terrible fish - eat practically everything from the top to the bottom of the food chain, can live in warm oxygen depleted water with huge algal blooms (some were accidentally dumped into a trough and were found alive in a couple inches of mud 3 weeks later mid august), and worst of all, are semi-clonal, in that they use the sperm from other fish to self fertilize and clone themselves. They prefer stagnant waterways but will effectively spread and breed in all prairie water systems. Frequently they're transported in bilges (they can survive in a waterless damp bilge for a while), or as bait fish by uneducated fishermen.

So yeah, if you can identify them, kill them.

[rycoma]

Well from my experience they will only inhabit warm mucky bottom lakes and really slow moving waterways. As their primary food source is insects, crustaceans and worms. I can't find any info that backs up the fact that they can use any fish sperm to self fertilize and then clone themselves. If they could clone themselves why do they need sperm anyway? In the spring they would gather in shallow water to spawn it made them easy to net. I am 100% in agreement with getting them out of Alberta but only if you are 100% positive it is carp and not suckers or whitfish. As these are native spiecies and help out our ecosystem. They are definitely a nussance fish but I would like to think that the cliamate here for them is not as hospitable as it is back in Minnesota

[canross]

I'm a bit out of my depth on how it actually works, but have attended several seminars on them and they're a pain in the butt to eradicate. You won't generally see them outside of their prime habitat, but if you electrofish or dam and drain a waterway you'll often find them outside of their ideal habitat as well.

In regards to being semi-clonal, the word I was looking for was sperm-parasites:

Females spawn with several other species, for example Cyprinus carpio and Carassius carassius, but the eggs just develop without being actually fertilized resulting in a female only population (Ref. 2059). In Europe, populations considered as triploid and only females. But in some populations, it should be possible to find up to 25% of males which should be diploid (Ref. 40476). "There are also all-female populations in which all individuals are triploids. Triploids are sperm parasites of other cyprinid species such as Cyprinus carpio, Rutilus rutilus and Abramis brama.

http://www.fishbase.ca/summary/6376
http://www.fishbase.ca/references/FB...y.php?ID=59043


If anyone's interested PM me and I can put them in touch with one of the researchers. Primary issue with Prussian carp is awareness and public education. They've been finding isolated groups of them spreading outwards in various portions of the province, usually near major fishing, boating or travel routes, suggesting humans are moving them faster than they spread on their own.

[parfleche]

Man that,s a lot of scientific stuff for me ! I,m thinking I might need some therapy or trauma counseling BUT I,m not a Liberal so I ,m OK !!LOL
That,s basically what the F&W told me.

[hami30051510]

carp are our main sport fish back home if you are looking at targeting them ie you wish to know rigs feeding habits spawning habits patrol routes and how to spot them let me know ill give you any help where I can ive been fishing for them 20 years lol

[sourdough doug]

And....away we go