Great Lakes Article:

Carp could stir up trouble in Nipissing
Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles
North Bay Nugget (Osprey Media)
Published May 11, 2007

An unwelcome species of fish has made its presence known to Lake Nipissing anglers.

A carp was caught last year near West Bay, said Richard Rowe, a biologist with Nipissing First Nation.

"I don't know when they came or how many there are, but they're here," Rowe said Wednesday, following a presentation to the Lake Nipissing Stewardship Council on the Nipissing Nation Fishery Management Program.

"What concerns me is that carp eat the bottom weeds and stir up the mud on the bottom of the lake, which is where pike and muskie lay their eggs."

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources website, carp can be identified by the whiskers beside their mouths and their one dorsal spine. They live in the Great Lakes region from the upper St. Lawrence River to Lake Superior and in many inland lakes, reservoirs and rivers.

John Thornton, president of the stewardship council, said it's the council's job to help educate lake users about invasive species.

He said carp isn't the only invasive species in Lake Nipissing - black crappie and spiny water fleas are not native to the area.

"Black crappie was introduced by people several years ago who weren't catching walleye or they could have come into the area from a bait bucket," Thornton said, noting the spiny water flea has been on the radar since 2000, but has so far has not created a problem in Lake Nipissing.

Thornton said that can't be said for bass, which have invaded some area lakes where lake trout once thrived, competing for limited food sources.

"Other lakes in the area have mistakenly been implanted with bass by people who thought they were food for lake trout," he said.

Thornton said once a species has been introduced, there is little that can be done to eradicate it unless nature decides it's inappropriate.