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In defense of a carp
by Mac McIntyre
On August 1, Northern Illinois University began draining the water from the East Lagoon on Lincoln Highway as part of an overall floodwater management plan to control and improve storm water management in this area of DeKalb. The saturated silt on the bottom of the pond, along with many years of debris, will dry and be hauled away. The depth of the Lagoon will increase from an average of a few inches to three-to-four feet.
It’s a good and needed plan. After the silt is removed numerous species of native plants (including tussock sedge, prairie cord grass and prairie switch grass, marsh marigold, blazing star, culvers root) will be planted in and around the lagoon. The ecosystem of the area will be dramatically improved.
But there are many people who have a problem with NIU’s handling of the process. There are those who are troubled that a large number of fish, mostly carp, perished in the draining and drying of the Lagoon.
A few members of the public tried to rescue the carp and take them to the Kishwaukee River. NIU has rightfully refused to allow or condone this activity as the area is a construction zone and the mud can be like quicksand.
But NIU undermines its own experts when it states that it will "utilize the expertise of the NIU Biology Department" to remove turtles and frogs to the nearby river. Those turtles won't leave voluntarily with the feast of carp carcasses awaiting them.
As the newly arrived students walk by the Lagoon and nearby residents open their windows the number of upset people is likely to grow.
Dead fish stink.
NIU’s public relations department maintains that the “worthy” fish all left the Lagoon when the water was drained, moving to the Kishwaukee River. They believe the only fish left to die in the drying lagoon are carp and they have enlisted support from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources who state that carp are a nuisance and should not be saved and relocated into the Kish or "any other body of water."
"Carp are not an indigenous fish and are regarded as a nuisance," said Joe Ferencak, regional resource manager for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Some carp, especially the most common species, are not indigenous to Illinois. Not all “carp,” however, are imported. The Bigmouth Buffalo, Quilllback Carp, Carpsucker, and Shorthead Redhorse are all indigenous species to Illinois waters.
The imported species, identified by “whiskers” protruding from the sides of their mouths, were introduced in the mid-1800s from Europe as a renewable food source. Carp were and still are considered a prime source of food in Europe and Asia.
Entrepreneurs such as Julius Poppe began importing large numbers of carp to raise in ponds and to introduce into the rivers and streams. They were right about carp being a renewable source but the food supply was much higher than the demand. The resilient carp flourished in America. The freshwater commercial fishing industry also flourished in the country and in Illinois.
A 1994 study by the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture found that over 60% of people tested preferred the taste of canned water-packed carp to that of similarly processed white meat tuna.
In the 1950s carp were identified as a threat to sport fishing. They were blamed for the reduction in game fish across the country. Massive efforts to exterminate the species began at the expense of the indigenous species of rough fish and the freshwater commercial fishing industry. The imported carp however survived and multiplied.
They and the commercial fishermen were falsely blamed for the demise of game fish such as bass, crappie, walleye and muskies.
The reduction of game fish was due to the increased demand for sport fishing. There were too many people trying to catch too few game fish.
When efforts to eliminate the carp failed other, more effective methods of protecting game fish were pursued. Size and number-of-fish limits were enacted. The Catch-and-Release program was promoted. Game fish were raised on farm ponds, much like the carp were, and re-introduced to the lakes, streams and rivers.
The commercial fishermen were discovered to be the best source for controlling the carp population. In 1999, commercial fishermen in all Illinois waters except Lake Michigan harvested 5.4 million pounds of fish valued at nearly $1.4 million. Experts have learned that an increasing market for carp and carp products would provide the population control that State removal programs have failed to do. Most State agencies, including Illinois, have favored State-regulated commercial fishing to removal programs since the early 1980s.
Another market for carp has grown with the increasing number of retention ponds in residential and commercial real estate developments. Carp keep the bottom of a pond stirred and this helps control the growth of algae and moss.
NIU may well have found a market, or home, for the Lagoon carp from owners of retention ponds around the area. But this is an emerging market so it is not to be expected for NIU to have known about it. Better communications would have helped.
Don’t worry about those carp. They are survivors. In 20-30 years when and if the Lagoon needs drained there will be plenty of carp living there. Just be sure to hold your nose when you drive or walk by the Lagoon during the drying process. Those darn carp stink while they are decaying.
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