Bighead carp are now found in the Tombigbee River

Bighead carp are now found in the Tombigbee River, which drains to the Mobile River and then to the Gulf of Mexico.  There is no evidence of reproduction yet, but the fish that have been captured are adults, apparently of several year classes.  A likely source of the fish is the Tennesee ‑Tombigbee waterway, which connects the Mobile River Basin with the Mississippi River Basin.  If the fish establish there, which seems highly likely, this will be the first established population of bighead carp in North America outside of the Mississippi River basin.  Also, if the water‑way is the pathway, this will be an example of the fish using a man‑made connection between two major watersheds as the means of invading a watershed.

Online Sighting Report  - Duane Chapman,  dchapman@usgs.gov

Collector:

Location: Four locations in Tennessee‑Tombgibee Waterway (Demopolis Lake, Tombigbee Arm) downstream of Howell Heflin Dam in Gainesville and upstream of the Black Warrior River mouth [in Demopolis].

Comments: One specimen found dead during 2004, two captured in gill nets during April, 2005, and one captured in a gill net on 3/2/2007. A pharyngeal arch was taken from the 2004 specimen, and I have a photo of the 2007 specimen. The size of fish varied greatly, ranging from approximately 4 to 25 kg, though not all were measured. One citation mentions the three carp recorded prior to 2006: O'Keefe, D. M. 2006.  Conservation and management of paddlefish in Mississippi with emphasis on the Tennessee‑Tombigbee Waterway. Doctoral Dissertation, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS. 161 pp.