BK sent me this link and I took the time to watch the entire presentation. The lecture was back in October of 2013 and its focus is on Asian Carp (Silver Carp, Bighead Carp, Grass Carp, Black Carp). I liked it because it provided the background and history of the Asian Carp invasion. What I took away from the lecture is that this is not really a new crisis that just popped up out of nowhere. This thing started decades ago and its growth has been kind of slow and steady. I’m not trying to downplay the fact that Silver Carp and Bighead Carp are not posing significant challenges in the Mississippi watershed south of us. I think from the information presented that we may not know exactly how big a problem this will actually become for us upstream of the established Asian Carp populations. We should obviously be concerned but I think we have no need to panic at this point in time.
I recommend watching this and drawing your own conclusions. Here is the link to the presentation: http://mediasite.uvs.umn.edu/Mediasite/Viewer/?peid=73416496987d4669b0ee498d308be6a6
A couple of things to watch out for when you start to watch the video.
#1:They started taping the lecture well before it started so you will want to slide the video forward until you see the gentleman approach the podium. I think there is about 12 minutes or so of empty tape at the start before the lecture starts. If you start at 12:15 into the tape you will be at the start of the actual lecture.
#2: I didn’t open up the video to full screen because then his powerpoint presentation slides weren’t visible from full screen. If you leave the video small you can easily follow his presentation by following the powerpoint slides.
For us Cat Guys there is a slide that I found very interesting in the presentation. Apparently the Asian Carp invasion hasn’t had a negative effect on catfish populations downriver. It seems cats love Silver carp and Bighead carp. So if and when they arrive it appears they may be another excellent source of cat bait.
