What Carpbusters is All About

Carping for Conservation (Adobe PDF)
 

Phil Durocher head of Texas Inland Fisheries promising a group of Carp Advocates that he will do his best to implement a Carp Sanctuary on Town Lake Austin Texas. Email Phil and let him know what you think about his carp sanctuary plans. 
                                                          Click here to watch it.
                                                          Secondary video link (if the above link doesn't work)

In March 2008 the Texas Wildlife and Parks voted to enact slot limits on Carp in Lady Bird Lake and to manage the open ended reservoir as a trophy carp fishery. It is the first such event in the United states enacted by a State fishery and sets a dangerous precedent for conservation in this country. Common Carp are an invasive species and can destroy bodies of
water with their rooting in the mud , ability to breath from the surface and high reproduction rate. Countless studies have documented the terrible impact of the fish and many states spend millions of dollars a year in carp removal programs in an effort to protect fish and waterfowl habitat. Texas apparently feels embracing carp is the better solution. We
at Carpbusters.com do not.

This change in legislation and other changes being proposed in California's santee lakes and other bodies of water we do not yet know of are spear headed by a group of Carp Anglers associated with the Carp Anglers Group www.carpanglersgroup.com and their sister organization the American Carp Society. Both of these groups cater to and believe in the
English style carp fishing. Their no keep motto is not just a personal ethic it is the rule they try and have succeeded in getting state and local agencies to enforce. Their tournaments have proven highly profitable as they attract carp fishers from around the world willing to
pay thousands of dollars to participate in a tournament where large carp will be caught. This has led to many of their members selling tackle and guided fishing trips all the while being sponsored by European carp tackle companies. With all this money around they have offered grants to various groups in hopes of garnering good will with the locals and the local fisheries managers. It has worked. The Head of Texas Parks and Wildlifes inland fisheries spoke at several CAG events including the one documented on this site. I wonder what it takes to get the head of the State fisheries department and several of his colleagues to speak at a meeting of 20-30 anglers? I'm sure that the Dallas bass Club has not had the luxury of the head of inland fisheries and company speaking at their local meetings. Makes you wonder what does it take to get such treatment.

In Carpbusters opinion to allow our fisheries policies to be controlled by advocates of an invasive species like the common carp is wrong. Just because they are organized does not mean that we in the US should allow anglers who have a tournament and guide service for Britons dictate how we treat our natural resources. In the UK the fishery is so corrupted
that tons of carp have to be brought in every year to maintain any kind of fishery. This is of course because the carp have so devastated the waters over there that nothing can live in it even the carp. So the British anglers pay a lot of money to catch the carp we have in abundance. You would think that would be enough for the CAG folks. Instead they are not satisfied with simply profiting from existing large carp populations with their Tournaments, carp tackle and guide services. These individuals now want carp preservation, carp sanctuaries and pro carp fisheries officials. They want body of water after body of water to
be managed for carp, carp in case you forgot are an invasive species that destroys native flora and fauna.

Please don't stand bye when some advocacy group wants to protect an invasive species like carp, snakeheads,tilapia. Go to the media, attend the meetings stop them before they destroy our American heritage with carp sanctuaries and trophy carp waters. All it takes for them to win is a few meetings, some soft politicians and apathy from the greater sport
fish and conservation community.

More news to come when the next sanctuary is proposed.