Alabama has the largest diversity of mussels of any State, but many of these species are already threatened or endangered due primarily to habitat loss. The presence of a large planktivore like these Asian carp could dramatically impact threatened mussels by reducing the amount of food available. An even greater concern for mussels and other native mollusks would be the introduction of an additional Asian carp in our State's waters, the black carp. Black carp, which look remarkably like grass carp but with darker fins, primarily eat mollusks such as snails. Catfish production ponds are sometimes subjected to outbreaks of parasites, which kill fish.
Snails are an intermediate host for some of the parasites.
By stocking black carp, catfish farmers could reduce the numbers of parasites on their fish by reducing the snail population, thus disrupting the parasite's lifecycle. If these black carp escape from the ponds, just as the bighead and silver carp have, they will begin feeding on a variety of native mollusk species in our river systems with potentially devastating results. Black carp are also known to host at least 32 disease-causing agents, the impacts of which have yet to be fully assessed. Black carp have already escaped into the Mississippi River system from a fish farm in Arkansas. Thankfully, current Alabama regulations do not allow black carp to be imported, possessed, or released into our State.