Asian carp

Today the Detroit Free Press began a six-part series on Asian carp. As with most reporting I've seen on the subject, it deals mostly with efforts to keep the fish out of the Great Lakes. Part 1 of the series mentions the Ohio River in passing, but it does note several tributaries where people are concerned about the fish's spread.

There was this paragraph that caught my attention: On the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn., however, fishing guide James Patterson of Bartlett, Tenn., can name fish that have begun to disappear. "Asian carp have changed this river," he said. "They have starved the shad out, which other fish eat."

I'm neither a fisherman nor an ichthyologist, but if I remember correctly, shad is the most plentiful fish in the Ohio River, and some fisherman catch it by the bucketful so they can use it as bait for other fish.