How did Asian carp get so close to the Great Lakes?
Two species of Asian carp — the bighead and silver — were imported by catfish farmers in the 1970’s to remove algae and suspended matter out of their ponds. During large floods in the early 1990s, many of the catfish farm ponds overflowed their banks, and the Asian carp were released into local waterways in the Mississippi River basin. The carp have steadily made their way northward up the Mississippi, becoming the most abundant species in some areas of the River.
