Carp, a cultivated food source, and symbol of strength and courage in Asia for over 4,000 years is now a game fish for some and a terrible nuisance to others When Europeans settled in the United States they where disbelieved that there where no Carp in the new land. Soon entrepreneurs began to import the prized fish, hoping to provide a familiar, profitable food staple to the rapidly growing nation. Julius A. Poppe was one of the most successful importers, expanded a stock of five common carp imported from Germany in 1872 into a thriving California farm by 1876. Fielding orders from throughout the country, he actively began to lobby for national cultivation of the hearty fish. Read more here.
Today we have a thriving invasive species in our rivers and marshes.
In the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge they are a destructive, invasive species that is destroying one of the most important migratory birds corridors in the West. Watch this video and see how the Refuge is trying to combat the Carp and bring one of the most important marshes back to health .
