Week 2, May 29th: The Start of the Carp Search
- Luke
- Jun 3, 2017
- 3 min read
May 30th, Tuesday:
Having just returned from the special New Fairfield Town Meeting, which resulted in a resounding cry to refuse any form of chemicals in Candlewood Lake without the will of the people, my mood is quite high as I type this entry. Because of this decision, I feel the importance of my study on the triploid grass carp is ever the more critical.
Today was not an optimal day for research on the lake. It was overcast, and when combined with a cool 60 degree day, the cold winds could cut through your clothing. Regardless, Dr. Pinou, Emily, and I had to take advantage of the lack of rain today to locate some of the carp. Joining us as our trusty boat captain was Frank of the Candlewood East Marina.
Together, we traveled to the Danbury sector of the lake, with high hopes of finding numerous triploid carp. Danbury, historically, has been one of the most heavily impacted regions from the milfoil, rivaled only by Sherman. To combat the threat of the Eurasian Milfoil in Danbury, the CLA had 4 separate release points for the carp in 2015. Due to this, carp expectancy was high as we began tracking carp throughout the 6 tracking locations, plus the 4 release points within Danbury cove. Our expectations were met, as we discovered readings for 10+ carp in the Danbury region. Our next challenge, for next time we return to Danbury, is to ensure that the trackers we are detecting are in fact attached to living fish. Emily, Dr. Pinou, and I must brainstorm for a method to ensure the carp are still alive and well.
June 1st, Thursday:
Today, despite the beautiful weather, Emily and I found ourselves without a boat to do research. However, we did not let this stop us. Together, we set out for the Sherman town beach, hoping to be able to detect some carp even on land, as the Sherman cove is narrow, and there were two release sites located closely together in Sherman.
By walking alongside the Sherman coastline, we were able to identify 6 triploid carp, some of which were new for the region. However, Emily and I then attempted to test a method to detect if the fish are indeed living. To do so, I waded into the rather chilly water with a stick 6 feet in length. I waved the stock back and forth in an attempt to move the water and disturb any nearby carp. However, Emily noticed no difference on the receiver signal, indicating that the fish did not move enough to get out of range. Although this was a rather primitive attempt to determine if the fish were alive, it was the easiest method. With this failure behind us, we can move forward and attempt to discover new methods to ensure that the receiver is actually detecting living fish, and prove that the triploid grass carp are effective at consuming the Eurasian Milfoil.
June 2nd, Friday:
As it was another beautiful day, Emily and I decided to return to the Sherman region to confirm the difficulty behind proving fish movement. This time, we brought kayaks, in hopes that having higher mobility in the water would make it easier to 'scare' the fish and have them noticeably move.
Unfortunately, even with the kayaks, we were unable to tell if a tagged fish had moved. The triploid grass carp are lazy fish, and do not move much unless they must for food. As such, even if a splash from a kayak paddle did jolt them, it is unlikely they would move enough for our receiver to notice a difference. With our current technology of a single receiver and antenna, we will not be able to detect if a carp that we are detecting is alive or not. Although this is frustrating, the failure is just as valuable as success. Now, we can move on from trying to move the carp large distances to detect if the carp are alive and well.
To end on a positive note, we have strong evidence to show that a couple of the triploid grass carp are alive and moving. Between Thursday and Friday, a few fish that were previously detected no longer appeared. This points to that the carp moved elsewhere that is outside of our transceivers range. More evidence will be needed, but this is a strong sign that the carp are indeed alive and eating as they are supposed to.
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