Production, Distribution, Certification, and Regulation of Grass Carp in the United States- a Review and Management Recommendations

Following approval of the national ‘Management and Control Plan for Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver Carps in the United States’ (National Asian Carp Plan; Conover et al. 2007) by the national Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force (ANS Task Force) in 2007, the Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association (MICRA) and the Mississippi River Basin Panel (MRBP) identified several grass carp related recommendations from the National Asian Carp Plan as high priority needs.  MICRA sub-contracted an independent National Analysis of the Grass Carp industry in the U.S. to provide recommendations to prevent unintentional and unintentional and illegal introductions of diploid and triploid Grass Carp. The review looked at the production, shipping, triploid certification, regulations, and the reasoning for different regulatory approaches. More than 300 telephone interviews with representatives from the USFWS grass carp program, state natural resource management agencies, and Grass Carp producers and distributors were conducted and 12 site visits to commercial production, grow out, and distribution facilities occurred to gain a more thorough understanding of the size, scope, and nature of the Grass Carp industry. Eight recommendations for management of the species on a national level were generated from this work and are discussed in the talk.