Fish Kabobs

Some crazy "Asian Carp Water Ninjas" are heading out onto the Illinois River and attacking the invasive fish mid-ski with swords and spiked armor. A link to the video, which must be seen to be believed, is here. (Don't try this at home, etc. etc.)

Carpoon!

Fifth grader wins national invention contest from Popular Science with his underwater fishy-facial recognition weapon, an anti-carp device.

New Jersey Mussel Maker

The Chinese pond mussel (Sinanodonta woodiana) has been found in New Jersey, in a pond formerly used as a fish farm. While this Asian species is known to have invaded many bodies of water in Europe (See 1, 2, 3), this appears to be the first record for this species in the USA.

King Of The Fishes

The Great Lakes-area news is abuzz with the announcement that the US government has appointed an Asian carp czar to oversee efforts to keep Asian carp out of the lakes.

Ms. MILFoil?

Well I guess that's *one* way to fight invasive species...

P.S. - You can also follow her on Twitter.

Le Snakehead Is In La River

A large Indonesian snakehead fish (Channa micropeltes) was found dead in the Saint Charles River in Quebec last month - possibly the first find of this species in the wild in Quebec. It's thought to be a released pet. Need a French translation? Try this forum (towards the bottom of the page)

The Age of Aquaria

Conservation Maven has an article about an interesting new study exploring aquariums as vectors for the accidental introduction of exotic species.

Mixed Signals

A UK man who thought he was doing the environment a favor by catching invasive American signal crayfish out of a local river has been fined £4,000 ($8,000) aftger authorities discovered he had actually caught and eaten the native white-clawed crayfish, an endangered species. Also, turns out he was breaking the law just by trapping for crayfish in Cumbria.

Best Homework Ever!

Those lucky enough to be enrolled in Duke University must be fighting to get into Dr. Sandra Cooke's excellently titled class, "The Billion Dollar Problem of Aquatic Invasive Species." As part of the coursework, students are required to participate in a blog about aquatic invasives, where they've been posting about everything from Asian swamp eels to the war metaphor for invasive species. Check it out!

That Ship Has Already Sailed?

The US Army Corps of Engineers is reporting that DNA evidence suggests Asian carp may already be present in Lake Michigan. In related news, Louisiana is developing a market for carp by rebranding it as "silverfin." Mmmm, silverfin!

Lake Effect

Starting in 2010, New Hampshire will be offering a new grant to municipalities and non-profits who want to remove invasive aquatic plants from the lakes they know and love. To be eligible, lakes must have at least one public access site, and priority will be given to applicants interested in pursuing purchase of Diver Assisted Suction Harvesting (DASH) equipment.

Bleached Pond

Wisconsin is preparing to bleach their Louisiana crayfish (crawfish? crawdads? :-)) out of existence. The invasive crustacean in question is the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), in case you're wondering.

Pay To Play Against The Rules

A man caught violating regulations that require boaters to allow their vehicles to be inspected by park staff was fined $2500 earlier this month. The rules are in place at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in order to prevent the introduction of zebra and quagga mussels into Lake Powell, a man-made reservoir located in between Utah and Arizona.

Vermont Is For Pacus

Employees of a Vermont power company pulled a 2.5lb pacu fish out of Otter Creek earlier this month. What was the large, South American cousin of the piranha doing in New England? Perhaps searching for a good microbrew? ;-)

P.S. - be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the NAS Alert page to see the pacu pics!

Musseling Into Texas

Zebra mussels have been found in another Texas lake; officials are concerned the mussels are entering river systems in northern part of state (thanks to W^2 for the tip :-)).

Clamoring For More

Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) have been found for the first time in South Dakota. The clams were discovered in Lewis and Clark Lake, in the southeast tip of the state.

Fried Lionfish - Mmmmm!

The Climate Shifts blog has an excellent post about invasive lionfish in the Caribbean, including links to recipes and preparation tips, in case you'd like to try eating these poisonous fish them out of existence. (Thanks budak!)

Mass Mussel Mania

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) have been found for the first time in the state of Massachusetts. The mussels were found by an alert citizen swimming in Laurel Lake in the town of Lee, located in the western part of the state.

Rocky Horror

A guy in New York is celebrating today because his ginormous, so-ugly-its-cute pet snakehead fish, named "Rocky," has been given a reprieve by the NY Department of Environmental Conservation. As long as he applies for a permit (and pays the $500 permit fee), he can keep Rocky in a tank.

Oregon Trailers

Oregon is casting a wary eye on boaters coming from zebra mussel-infested states, and is watching for other invaders as well.