The US Army has erected more electric fences to prevent an invasive introduced carp species from spreading along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, and it's footing the bill, says NBC5.
com.
Three Asian species of cyprinid escaped from fish farms on the Mississippi over the past decade and have been breeding and growing rapidly ever since. The Black carp, Mylopharyngodon piceus, can grow to 1.2m and weigh 32kg; the Silver carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix can reach 1m and weigh 50kg, while the Bighead carp, Aristichthys nobilis, can hit 1.1m and weigh up to 22kg.
Besides the obvious impact the fish are having upon the ecology of the waters, they are also reportedly causing problems for people using the waters.
Like the related Grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella, the three non-native carp are very flighty and one species, the Silver carp, is said to be able to jump as much as 3m out of the water. One man was injured recently after a 40lb carp jumped out and hit him in the chest.