Carp

From Wikinfo

A carp is any of various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. The common carp Cyprinus carpio is the most common and best-known species of carp.

Introduction of carp to North America

Carp, native to Eurasia, were introduced into North America to great fanfare as "the world's finest fish" in 1877. The original shipment of 345 live fish from Germany were released in ponds in Druid Hill Park in Boston, later surplus populations were released in Babcock Lakes in Monument Park, Washington, D.C.. This was a project of Rudolf Hessel, a fish culturist in the employ of the United States Government. There was substantial favorable publicity and carp were widely introduced throughout the United States.

Results of the introduction of this exotic species seemed at first promising as carp readily adapted to their new environment, spreading rapidly thoughout any drainage area they were introduced to. Part of the appeal of carp was that they ate pond vegetation, which they did in great quantities to the detriment of other wildlife such as canvasback ducks which also depended on it. They also ate the spawn of other fish. The greatest disappointments were that the carp was no gamefish and while tasty when grown in good water, riddled with small bones in unpredictable locations.

Today the carp is treated as a trash fish. Cleaning carp from a lake can only be accomplished by poisoning all fish in the lake then later re-introducing desirable fish.