Before reading the article, warm tips: happy fishing, safety first; civilized fishing, cherish the environment; fishing for entertainment, juvenile fishing!
"Alien species" are all familiar to everyone, such as tilapia, water hyacinth, crayfish, African large snails, etc., are all exotic species.
However, the alien species we are talking about today is not the above, but a fish that mainly lives in the Pearl River. A wheat mullet that resembles grass carp and is easily confused with native fish, it is mistaken by many people for costing native fish.
Wheat mud carp was originally an exotic fish species in the Pearl River, but with its own competitive advantage, in just 30 years, all the way to "attack the city", and finally became a "hegemon" in the Pearl River!
Below, we will approach the Pearl River together, enter the world of wheat carp, and understand its road to hegemony in the Pearl River and its recent situation.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > pearl river: fish resources are not optimistic today</h1>
Speaking of the Pearl River, everyone knows that it is the second largest river in China according to its flow rate, and the third longest river in China according to its length.
The Pearl River Basin has abundant rain and abundant water resources, providing a good space for fish to survive and reproduce, so the fish resources in the Pearl River Basin are also very rich.
According to records, there are as many as 385 species of fish in the Pearl River Basin, of which 53 are major economic fish and 23 are valuable fish.
Although the original fish in the Pearl River are very rich in records, due to river water pollution, overfishing and other reasons, the indigenous fishing resources in the Pearl River are becoming less and less! In 2011, experts investigated that about 70% of the native fish in the Pearl River are on the verge of extinction, and the fishery resources of the Pearl River are much worse than before.
Because there are fewer and fewer local fish species, the Pearl River is no longer the world of local fish! Exotic fish species such as tilapia, Egyptian pond bass, largemouth bass, mosquito-eating fish, and scavengers are almost all over the rivers and ravines of the Pearl River Basin, and the protagonist of this article, the wheat mud carp, is also one of them.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > wheat carp: big, powerful, fast</h1>
Wheat mud carp resembles freshwater grass carp, seawater barracuda, the body is streamlined, the full name of the merigala carp, is a wide temperature omnivorous fish, the largest individual up to 8 kg, the origin is mainly in India, Bangladesh, is one of the four major farmed fish in India.
In 1982, as an economic fish species, wheat mud carp was introduced to China, and now it is mainly distributed in Liangguang, Fujian, Yunnan and other provinces.
The wheat mud carp is a demersal fish, but unlike most benthic fish, it prefers to live in flowing water and is good at jumping.
Because the wheat mud carp is large, the body size is streamlined, long-term life in living water good jumping, often jump out of the water when frightened, and escape speed, strength, is one of the target fish of the southern fishing friendly fishing.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > intrusion: the way for wheat carp to enter the Pearl River</h1>
When wheat carp was introduced to China, as an economic fish, it was artificially kept in captivity and has been living in farms, how did it invade the Pearl River?
(1) Breeding loopholes: Due to the long time, man-made damage and other reasons, the breeding site of wheat carp is damaged, resulting in wheat mud carp or fish eggs flowing outside, thus eventually entering the Pearl River.
(2) Natural disasters: Natural disasters such as winds and floods caused by typhoons have destroyed farms, causing wheat mud carp to flow out to the Pearl River Basin and finally into the Pearl River.
(3) Artificial release: Out of kindness, curiosity, and even idle and bored people, intentionally or unintentionally release wheat mud carp into the Pearl River Basin during release.
In general, these three ways have allowed the wheat mud carp to go out of the farm and invade the Pearl River Basin, thus beginning its "hegemonic" road!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > mud carp: Stop being silly and unclear</h1>
As an "outsider", mai mud has successfully entered the Pearl River, but it is not the only mud carp in the Pearl River. In front of it are the old "indigenous" earth carp, and the two competitors of the Thai carp, which is also an "outsider".
Although wheat carp, earth carp, and Thai carp all belong to mud carp, and their length is similar, their comprehensive strength is still different, which also leaves a foreshadowing for wheat carp to call "hegemony"!
(1) Wheat carp: The size and color of the three types of mud carp are the most similar. Unlike grass carp, it has a pair of small whiskers, a mouth much smaller than grass carp, lips similar to yellow catfish, upper lip large lower lip small, typical "heavenly". The individuals of the wheat carp are larger than the earth carp and smaller than the Thai carp, and the body size accounts for the middle of the three.
(2) Mud carp: pure Chinese native mud carp, the old "indigenous" in the Pearl River! With a small head, a long body, a mouth facing down, and lips commonly known as "heaven and earth", it is the smallest of the three species of mud carp in the Pearl River. The biggest difference between it and the wheat carp and the Thai carp is that there are several blue fish scales behind the gills.
(3) Thai carp: Like the wheat carp, it belongs to the same exotic fish species, introduced by Thailand in 1978, and is theoretically the "brother" of the wheat carp. The body is fatter than the first two, and the body size is more similar to that of a carp, but the head and eyes are smaller than the carp, and the mouth is smaller than the carp. The Thai carp is the largest of the three individuals, and the largest can grow to tens of kilograms!
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > 30 years: how Mai Hao became a "hegemon" in the Pearl River</h1>
Wheat mud carp entered the Pearl River, and in the Pearl River, it was passed down from generation to generation, rapidly multiplied, and spent 30 years to "attack the city strategically", and finally became a "hegemon" in the Pearl River!
In August 2019, researchers collected 5,867 fish samples from the Pearl River Basin, of which 927 were exotic species accounting for 15.8 percent. Among the 927 exotic fish species, Wheat carp defeated 360 Nile tilapia with a advantage of 407 fish, ranking first in the list of single fish species, becoming a veritable "overlord" of the Pearl River.
In the past 30 years, how has the wheat mud carp gone from an "outsider" to a "hegemon" in the Pearl River, and what advantages does it have in the competition with mud carp, Thai carp and other native fish?
Thai carp
(1) The flesh quality of wheat carp is poor: compared with the delicate flesh of the mud carp, the meat quality of wheat mud carp is more "chai", which is what we commonly call "not delicious", which is also the main reason why wheat mud carp can become a "hegemon" in the Pearl River.
(2): The reproduction of wheat carp is large: the poor meat quality gives wheat carp hope of survival, but if you want to achieve rapid dispersion of the population, you also need strong reproductive ability. Female wheat mud carp can lay between 100,000 and 150,000 eggs at a time, and the larger the fish, the more eggs they lay!
(3) The growth rate of wheat carp is fast: in addition to strong reproductive ability, it is also necessary to ensure the survival rate of juvenile fish. Only when individuals grow fast and grow up can they reduce the damage of natural enemies. This is also a great advantage, with juveniles growing to more than 300 grams a year.
(4): The adaptability of wheat carp is strong: to achieve the above 3 points, it can only increase the population of wheat carp rapidly, but to "attack the city" and "dominate" the Pearl River, it also needs a strong ability to adapt, which wheat carp also wins! They are resistant to low oxygen, anti-virus, low temperature, and soil carp will die at water temperature of 7 ° C, but wheat carp energy is not affected.
The above 4 points are the main reason why "outsiders" Mai Miao can counterattack at the grassroots level and become a "hegemon" in the Pearl River.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > present: whether the wheat carp has the potential to invade</h1>
After watching the road of "hegemony" of wheat carp in the Pearl River, many people may worry that after such a powerful wheat carp "dominates" the Pearl River, will it spread along the river and have the momentum of external invasion?
In fact, the wheat mud carp has already invaded, in addition to its original introduction to the provinces and cities, the Pearl River Basin and surrounding areas have found traces of wheat carp.
However, if you are afraid of its large-scale intrusion, you don't have to worry. After all, wheat mud carp is a medium temperate fish, although it is more hardy than the soil carp, but the temperature requirements are still high, in the natural waters of the northern region, there is no living conditions for them!
About the Pearl River Wheat Carp is written here, if you have any insights, welcome to comment on the message.
Finally, I would like to appeal to my fishing friends: small fish, female fish, and roe fish please release! If you need to take it, just one meal is enough! For the future there are fish to catch, do not be greedy!
I am the king's fishing diary, original handwriting is not easy! If you feel a little interesting after reading it, please add a note. More and better fishing problems and videos, look forward to sharing with you!