Bighead carp are one of two non-native species of Asian carp causing widespread concern among Great Lakes advocates. The other is silver carp.
Great Lakes advocates are calling it a “conservation emergency” now that non-native Asian carp have been detected within seven miles of Lake Michigan. They want an immediate closure of locks and gateways leading to the lake in a literally”last-ditch” attempt to keep the fish out.
The fear is that the giant fish will disrupt the valuable Great Lakes sport fishery by outcompeting species at the top of the Lake Michigan food web, consuming the forage fish the established species depend on — and like many of the other 180 non-native aquatic species already in the Great Lakes, causing general ecosystem disruption.