Pam Thiel
(Project Leader)
555 Lester Avenue
Onalaska, WI 54650

Email
Phone:
(608) 783-8434
Fax:
(608) 783-8450

Bighead Carp

Photo courtesy of Iowa DNR

Bighead carp, Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, were brought to Arkansas in 1972 from eastern China by a private fish farmer to control plankton in his culture ponds. The species escaped in the early 1980's. Some areas have been overpopulated with bighead carp to the point that commercial fishermen have had to abandon certain fishing sites because the nets become so full of bighead that they can't lift their nets. The bighead feed on organisms such as zooplankton and aquatic insect larvae and adults, usually near the surface of rivers. Bighead carp have been observed schooling with paddlefish because they feed on similar food types. This species is also in direct competition with bigmouth buffalo, gizzard shad and all larval and juvenile fishes and native mussels. Consumption demands for the bighead are great in large cities with ethnic Asian communities. The bighead can grow to be about 88 lbs and 4 ft. A bighead has been caught as far north as Lake Pepin on the Mississippi River in the fall of 2003.