Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)
•Imported for rooted aquatic weed control
•Have been introduced into 45 states
•Impacts include:
–Competition for food with invertebrates
–Changes in macrophyte, phytoplankton, and invertebrate communities
–Interference with reproduction of other fishes
–Reproducing in the wild (KY, TN, IL, MS,           AR, TX, MO, LA)
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The grass carp has kind of been a poster child for “to introduce or not to introduce” species.  They were imported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from Malaysia in 1963 to study their potential for aquatic weed control.