NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species

Common name: common carp

Synonyms and Other Names: German carp, European carp, mirror carp, leather carp, koi

Taxonomy: available through

Identification: Wheeler (1978); Becker (1983); Page and Burr (1991); Etnier and Starnes (1993); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994); Balon (1995). In Eurasia there are two poorly defined subspecies C. c. carpio and C. c. haematopterus; unfortunately, feral common carp, descendants of earlier escapees or introductions, have greatly confused the picture (Balon 1995). Several genetic strains—some bred in aquaculture or used as ornamentals (e.g., leather carp, mirror carp, Israeli carp, koi)—are recognized by some as separate varieties (Robison and Buchanan 1988; Balon 1995).

Size: 122 cm

Native Range: Eurasia (Page and Burr 1991; Balon 1995). Balon (1995) found that Cyprinus carpio evolved in the Caspian Sea, then migrated naturally to the Black and Aral Seas, east to eastern mainland Asia and west as far as the Danube River.

Ecology: The species generally inhabits lakes, ponds, and the lower sections of rivers (usually with moderately flowing or standing water), but is also known from brackish-water estuaries, backwaters, and bays (Barus et al. 2001). In its native range, the species occurs in coastal areas of the Caspian and Aral Seas (Berg 1964; Barus et al., 2001) as well as the estuaries of large Ukrainian and Russian rivers. Crivelli (1981) reported that the common carp occurred in brackish-water marshes with salinities up to 14 ppt in southern France. In North America, the common carp inhabits brackish and saline coastal waters of several states bordering the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and Gulf of Mexico (Schwartz 1964; Moyle 2002) as well as the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada (McCrimmon 1968). It has been captured in U.S. waters with salinities as high as 17.6 ppt (Schwartz 1964). In the U.S., the common carp is more abundant in manmade impoundments, lakes, and turbid sluggish streams receiving sewage or agricultural runoff, and less abundant in clear waters or streams with a high gradient (Pflieger 1975; Trautman 1981; Ross 2001; Boschung and Mayden 2004). Pflieger (1975) noted that the common carp tends to concentrate in large numbers where cannery or slaughter-house wastes are emptied into streams.

Larval common carp feeds primarily on zooplankton. In its native range, juveniles and adults feed on benthic organisms (e.g., chironomids, gastropods and other larval insects), vegetation, detritus and plankton (e.g., cladocerans, copepods, amphipods, mysids). Feeding habits are similar in the U.S., where the diet is composed of organic detritus (primarily of plant origin), chironomids, small crustaceans, and gastropods (Summerfelt et al. 1971; Eder and Carlson 1977; Panek 1987). The common carp is very active when feeding and its movements often disturb sediments and increase turbidity, causing serious problems in some regions especially where the species is abundant. The species also retards the growth of submerged aquatic vegetation by feeding on and uprooting plants (King and Hunt 1967). Silt resuspension and uprooting of aquatic plants caused by feeding activities can disturb spawning and nursery areas of native fishes (Ross 2001) as well as disrupt feeding of sight-oriented predators, such as bass and sunfish (Panek 1987).

Means of Introduction: There is some question as to when and where common carp was first introduced into the United States. DeKay (1842) reported that the species was first brought into the United States from France by Henry Robinson of Orange County, New York in 1831 and 1832. In a letter to DeKay, Robinson detailed that he kept the fish in ponds and for several years released one to two dozen carp during the spring in the Hudson River near his residence, thereby creating a commercial fishery for the species. S. F. Baird of the U.S. Fish Commission examined fish taken from the Hudson River, as well as area fish then being sold on the New York markets, and reported that they were goldfish or goldfish hybrids and not true common carp (Redding 1884; Cole 1905). Whitworth (1996) cited early literature indicating common carp had been introduced into Connecticut as early as the 1840s; however, we question the positive identity of the species. Smith (1896) reported that common carp first appeared in the United States in 1872 when J. A. Poppe of Sonoma, California, imported five specimens from Germany and propagated them in private ponds for commercial purposes, mainly distributing them to applicants as a food fish (Smith 1896; Lampman 1946). In 1877, the U.S. Fish Commission imported common carp from Germany and for the next two decades the agency began stocking and distributing the species as food fish throughout much of the United States and its territories (Smiley 1886; Smith 1896; Cole 1905). State fish commissions also were commonly involved in distributing the species (e.g., Johnson and Becker 1980). Records from the early 1880s indicate that common carp stocked in farm ponds frequently escaped into open waters as a result of dam breaks or flood events (Smiley 1886). By 1885, the U.S. Fish Commission was actively stocking lakes and rivers throughout the country, often the fish were released from railroad tank cars at bridge crossing directly into streams (e.g., McDonald 1887). As a result of subsequent population growth and dispersal, common carp spread even further. More recently introductions of common carp have resulted because of the use of juvenile carp as bait fish (e.g., Swift et al. 1977). Various unusual genetic strains of common carp have been introduced into open waters the United States. In addition to the normal scaled carp, the U.S. Fish Commission distributed both mirror carp and leather carp varieties in the late 1800s (Smiley 1886; Cole 1905). Colorful varieties of common carp (i.e., nishikigoi or koi) are kept as pets in garden ponds and some have been introduced to ponds and public water bodies (Balon 1995). However, only a small percentage of common carp records in U.S. open waters are based on koi. Another cultured variety occasionally found in open waters is the Israeli carp (Robison and Buchanan 1988). Their presence in South Florida is believed to be the result of released bait with this species as a contaminant.

Status: Recorded from all states except Alaska; believed to be established in all states listed above except Maine. In their summary table, Bailey and Smith (1981) indicated that Cyprinus carpio is widely distributed in the Great Lakes basin.

Carp is only established in the Florida panhandle.  It does not appear to be established in South Florida.

Impact of Introduction: The common carp is regarded as a pest fish because of its widespread abundance and because of its tendency to destroy vegetation and increase water turbidity by dislodging plants and rooting around in the substrate, causing a deterioration of habitat for species requiring vegetation and clean water (Cole 1905; Cahoon 1953; Bellrichard 1996; Laird and Page 1996). Available literature indicates common carp may destroy aquatic macrophytes directly by uprooting or consuming the plants, or indirectly by increasing turbidity and thereby reducing light for photosynthesis. Bellrichard (1996) found that alterations in macrophyte biomass are due more to direct effects of common carp. In their review of the literature, Richardson et al. (1995) concluded that common carp has had noted adverse effects on biological systems including destruction of vegetated breeding habitats used by both fish and birds, and an increase in turbidity. It stirs up the bottom during feeding, resulting in increased siltation and turbidity (Lee et al. 1980 et seq.). This feeding behavior also destroys rooted aquatic plants that provide habitat for native fish species and food for waterfowl (Dentler 1993). There is also evidence that common carp prey on the eggs of other fish species (Moyle 1976a; Taylor et al. 1984; Miller and Beckman 1996). For this reason, it may be responsible for the decline of the razorback sucker Xyrauchen texanus in the Colorado River basin (Taylor et al. 1984). In another case, Miller and Beckman (1996) documented white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus eggs in the stomachs of common carp in the Columbia River. In California, carp have been implicated in the decrease in water clarity in Clear Lake, Lake County, and in the gradual disappearance of native fishes (Moyle 1976a). McCarraher and Gregory (1970) wrote that in 1894 there was documentation that Sacramento perch Archoplites interruptus were becoming more scarce because carp was destroying their spawning grounds. Laird and Page (1996) stated that common carp may compete with ecologically similar species such as carpsuckers and buffalos. Because this species has been present in many areas since the first surveys, its impacts on many of the native fishes are difficult to determine. Once established in a water body, common carp is difficult and expensive to eliminate (e.g., Cahoon 1953).

Remarks: Balon (1995) reviewed the origin and history of domestication of common carp in Europe and elsewhere. Several agents of the U.S. Fish Commission documented the early years of common carp propagation and stocking in the United States (e.g., Smiley 1886; Smith 1896; Cole 1905). Although this species was popular in the early 1870s as a food fish, common carp fell into wide disfavor soon after and is now considered a nuisance fish because of its abundance and detrimental effects on aquatic habitats. Trautman (1981) found common carp most abundant in streams enriched with sewage or with substantial runoff from agricultural land, but he reported it to be rare or absent in clear, cold waters, and streams of high gradient. Pflieger (1997) reported that the total weight and value of common carp taken by commercial fishermen in Missouri exceeded that of any other fish. Hartel et al. (1996) noted that more than 20,000 common carp were killed by a bacterial disease over a short period of time in the Merrimack River in the late 1970s. Because common carp have a higher salinity tolerance than most freshwater fishes, Swift et al. (1977) hypothesized that it may be spreading from one coastal stream to another through fresh or nearly fresh coastal waters in the Gulf area during periods of heavy rainfall and run-off, periods when salinities are greatly reduced.

Voucher specimens: Alabama (UMMZ 103508, 115003, TU 48856, 51966, 130781), Arizona (TU 74792, 78489, 79742), Arkansas (TU 2194, 2204, 44759), Colorado (TU 47337), Florida (TU 22858, 22879, 23654, 34833), Georgia (UGAMNH), Illinois (TU 9944, 125802, 125825), Indiana (TU 19372, 101143), Kansas (TU 42664, 42681), Kentucky (TU 66289), Louisiana (TU 6281, 9202, 15805, 16781), Michigan (TU 15007), Mississippi (TU 32974, 57121, 69483, 85130), Missouri (TU 53843, 54574, 74298), Nevada (TU 47257, 47266), New Jersey (TU 36738), New Mexico (TCWC 0059.01, TU 35686, 38871, 42637, 42656), New York (TCWC 0077.01, TU 36674), North Carolina (TU 29401), North Dakota (UMMZ 94756, 94757), Ohio (TU 3299), Oklahoma (TU 12021, 13790, 141667, 141686), Oregon (TU 121816), South Carolina (TU 145144), South Dakota (TU 58222), Tennessee (TU 33470), Texas (TCWC 1074.01, 07780.03, TU 15777, 21969, 21995, 35583, 35634), Utah (TU 43659, 99064, 99122, 99150), Wisconsin (TU 15748, 173824), many others.

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Other Resources:
Distribution in Illinois - ILNHS

Cyprinus carpio (Global Invasive Species Database)

Fishes of Wisconsin (Becker)

Great Lakes Water Life Photo Gallery

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