Page 10 - Abacoa Community News - May '23
P. 10

Page 10, Abacoa

       goverNMeNt


       Northern Notes



      Grass Carp As Biological                           control unwanted plants in our lakes and
                                                         canals. The grass carp is native to large
      Weed Control                                       coastal rivers in Siberia (Amur River) and
                                                         China that flow into the Pacific Ocean.
      By Katie Roundtree,                                They are one of the largest members of
      Director of Finance and                            the minnow family. The back of the grass
      Administration,                                    carp is silvery to dark grey with large
      Northern Palm Beach                                scales, and the sides of the body are lighter
      County Improvement                                 with a slightly golden sheen. The belly is
      District                                           silvery white, and the fins are generally
         Northern Palm Beach                             greenish-grey. The carp used in aquatic
      County Improvement                                 weed programs in Florida are triploid grass carp. Triploid   more can be added to replace them in about five to 10 years.
      District uses several methods                      grass carp have three sets of chromosomes instead of the      As the name implies, grass carp consume aquatic plants
      of aquatic weed control in                         usual two, which renders them functionally sterile. Triploids   and submerged grasses. Many aquatic plants that pose
      lakes and canals that we                           are produced artificially and cannot reproduce. Therefore,
      maintain. Some are more                            only the fish introduced will remain for their life span, and   Northern Notes on page 11
      obvious, like chemical treatment or manually removing
      unwanted plants from the waterways. However, there is
      a lesser-known means that is relatively efficient and more
      long-term than other means. The grass carp, also known
      as white amur (Ctenopharyngodon Idella), can effectively
      dowNtowN AbAcoA


      hAPPeNiNgs











           Closing on May 24th
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