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Carp, native to Eurasia,
were introduced into North America to great fanfare as "the
world's finest fish" in 1877. The original shipment of 345
live fish were released in ponds in Druid Hill Park in Boston,
later surplus populations were released in Babcock Lakes in Monument
Park, Washington, D.C.. This was a project of Rudolf Hessel, a
fish culturist in the employ of the United States Government.
There was substantial favorable publicity and carp were widely
introduced throughout the United States.
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Results of the
introduction of this exotic species seemed at first promising
as carp readily adapted to their new environment, spreading rapidly
thoughout any drainage area they were introduced to. One of the
myths about carp is that they eat pond vegetation. They do, but
in very limited amounts. They are also claimed to eat the spawn
of other fish, this is fallacious as there is absolutely no evidence
of this happening. Tales of carp muddying waters are true, however
it is doubtful that they can make water turbid enough to be harmful
to other fish. While tasty when grown in good water, they can
be riddled with small bones in unpredictable locations. Despite
having food and angling value that is celebrated in most parts
of the world, in the US and Australia carp are viewed unfavorably.
Carp have taken much of the blame for the loss of native species
in the US. However, native fish populations were suffering even
before introduction of carp.
Above Images Are From The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
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