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

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

Silver Carp

An Arkansas fish farmer brought silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, to the U.S. from Asia in 1973 to control phytoplankton and apparently as a food fish. Silver carp have also been used in sewage lagoons. The silver carp escaped in the early 1980's into the Mississippi River Basin. This fish is a very proficient feeder that uses gill rakers that are fused into sponge-like porous plates. Silver carp can consume two or three times their weight in plankton each day. Because of its preferred food items, the silver carp is in direct competition with all native fish larvae and juveniles, adult paddlefish, bigmouth buffalo, gizzard shad, and native mussels. These fish can grow to be over three feet long and about 60 lbs. Boaters, jet skiers and fishery biologists have all been hit by silver carp in the lower Upper Mississippi River. There's documentation of people sustaining concussions, broken vertebrae, legs and arms from these "flying" fish. The true reason why silver carp jump has not been proven yet, but it is believed that when boat motors are above a certain RPM, the noise, vibration and bubbles cause the silver carp to jump out of the water to escape.