In one season a 20-pound female carp can deposit as many as two million eggs. Carp may someday be instrumental in controlling weed growth in lakes. The carp is a symbol for nobility, honor and courage in China and Japan. In some countries carp was kept only as table fare for kings. In Britain, carp is a highly prized game fish.
More anglers pursue it there than any other species.
Carp have been important traditional food in Jewish, Scandinavian and German holidays. Rice farmers in Southeast Asia raise rice and carp in the same paddy and cash in a double crop. English anglers blacken their faces and wear foam-soled shoes in order to sneak up on wily carp. 156 different kinds of fish live in the upper Mississippi River. Many kinds of freshwater mussels live below the Coon Rapids Dam.