What I meant o say is if you kill common carp you are killing because of misinformation and you are believe you are doing sum good which is not the case so you just wasted a fish for nothing . Now if you go out and kill sum Asian carp and are not eating them you are killing for fun but at lest you are correct in believing they are an invasive species. Common carp are not invasive this is all misinformation you hade bin led to believe.The "Trash Fish Label" is a bit of mistaken Cause and Effect.
Back during the industrialization of America, natural water ways were being diverted, dammed, drained, and polluted. This coupled with freshwater commercial fishing lead to the not so surprising situation of declining natural fish stocks. The US goverment was well aware of the problem. After much research, they decided that one solution to the
problem was to import and stock Cyprinus Carpio - aka Carp.
There reasoning was that carp were hardy enought to survive the less than ideal conditions men had created. Additionally, carp could produce plenty of protein on very little sustenance. Finally, the large immigrant communities were hungry for a taste of home.
So, the US government set about on one of the most successful stocking programs in history. In the 1890's German fish were imported and stocked
as brood stock in ponds near Washington DC and MD. From there shipments were made upon request to virtually every congressional district in the
USA. People asked, and the gov't provided.
Then a couple of things happened. Water quality due to pollution, fertilizers, and altered water ways continued to decline. People began
to notice that in some cases the only survivors were carp. Instead of admiring the carp's tenacity and mending our own ways, Americans began
blaming carp for the problem of declining native fish stocks. Not too logical since carp were a response to the problem rather than the cause of the problem.
A second event deepened the perception. The invention of refridgerated shipping. Before this event, fish were mostly a local fresh food item.
After this invention, salt water species could be caught hundreds of miles away and provided to the country's interior in an edible state. Needless to say, the freshwater commercial fisheries took a huge hit as
diets turned from local fresh water fish like carp and buffalo to tasty saltwater products like salmon, flounder, etc.
It was not long before a stigma was attached to carp. Being nearly the sole survivor of man's abuse, they were blamed for displacing more desireable species. It mattered not that the waters in question were
often incapable of now supporting the favored species.
Those who could not afford fancy fish shipped from the sea, would continue to eat local fare like carp. It was not long before folks began using carp consumption as yet another racial stereotype.
Politicians being quick to recognize a scapegoat, were more than happy to decry the evil carp, especially since it helped avoid blame for industrial pollution, agricultural run off, excessive irrigation, channelization, etc. etc.
Without an advocate to defend her, the Queen of the Rivers (as noted by Izaak Walton) came to be regarded as a scourge, a pest, a "TRASHFISH."
Once ingrained in the culture, such labels are hard to shed. I see it continuing yet today...
A man and his son are enjoying a warm spring afternoon fishing worms for bass or catfish or walleye or whatever. Suddenly, the little boy's pole doubles over. For about 10 minutes all is joy. Dad smiling, Jr.
squealing with glee. Then a large golden flank roles near the surface and a pair of fleshy orange lips poke above the water.
Father's face falls. F'ing carp. Too bad. It's so ugly. Junior now doesn't know whether to be happy or sad about this, the grandest fish he has ever caught. Taking his cues from dad, he spits on the fish and
curses it. Dad tells him to throw it in the bushes and they get back to catching their intended, smaller fish. Lesson Learned.
Scroll forward a few years and Jr. signs on the a place like the TFF. Carp are mention and Jr has a visceral negative reaction.
Such a scenario will not quickly change. However, there are an increasing number who have discovered that all is not as it appears. Join the fun, become a part of the "Carp Brigade."
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Last edited by robm1093; 09-30-2010 at 01:54 PM.