Speaking of our waterways.... (Port St. Lucie, Palm City: 2014, how much, house)

[FlaLadyB]

Carp release in Port St. Lucie waters helps clean ponds and canals naturally

Posted: April 10, 2014

carp release
More than 1,400 Triploid Grass Carp were recently released into Port St. Lucie ponds and canals. These fish will feast on invasive vegetation and algae in 40 different areas on the east and west sides of the city. The carp will help purify and clean the water as it makes its way into the St. Lucie River and surrounding waterways.

The City of Port St. Luce Public Works Department and Aquatic Vegetation Control Inc., a Florida vegetation management and general environmental consulting company, chose to disperse the fish in areas most prone to invasive plant species. Runoff from roadways, fertilizers and other chemicals contributes to invasive plant growth, and the city wants to control it in a natural, environmentally-friendly way.

American Sport Fish Hatchery of Montgomery, Ala. transported the grass carp to Port St. Lucie. The fish have been spawned and their eggs pressurized to make them functionally sterile which means they will not reproduce in our waters. They can grow to be three or four feet in length and live a functional life of about five years.

About 400 Shellcracker fish were also released in areas abundant with Apple Snails. These fish find the tiny pink snail eggs appetizing, which helps stabilize the population of this exotic snail species.

Each release location has been approved and permitted by the state of Florida. In order to keep this process balanced, areas are designated to receive a certain number of fish which are hand-counted as they're released.

Port St. Lucie strives to maintain clean, healthy ponds and canals. The fish help minimize the need for herbicides by controlling the invasive vegetation in a natural way.
For more information contact:
Public Works Department
City of Port St. Lucie
(772) 871-5100

[SeaLark7]

Wow, three or four feet, that's a big fish ! The pond behind our house has lots of bass, but could use some of these sterile carp for weed control. Sounds a lot better than chemicals.

[SeetheUSA]

Sounds good. Let's see how well they do! I'm curious to know how much this cost, but anything is better than chemicals I suppose.

[jerseygene]

Thanks for that information.

[JERSEY MAN]

Photo by Contributed Photo
David Smith, 34, of Port St. Lucie reported catching a sheepshead with a large, pink tumor on the side of its head about 9 a.m. Saturday in the just south of where Bessey Creek enters the estuary in northern Palm City.


A fish with a tumor caught Saturday in the St. Lucie River estuary has longtime area anglers thinking back to 1998, when thousands of fish with open, bleeding sores and lesions were seen in the estuary and adjacent Indian River

[SeetheUSA]

Sickening. I remember that story a month or two ago. I just can't believe the gov't allowed these canals to run into our estuary. They could have just run them straight into the ocean and would've done much less damage than what they do now. It's so sad.

[fengxg]

The Florida canals and rivers are really susceptible to pollutions, because the water barely flow. Anybody own a pool or pond knows you need to change the water or clean the bottom to keep the water clean. Check the canal of your back yard if the water level is influenced by tide. If not, it is a "deadwater canal", which could be polluted slowly even if the neighborhood is environmental friendly. Florida rivers like PSL river flow very slow and are very easily polluted by small amount of fertilizer. In my opinion fish is only a waste of money. Fish will eat plant but they will excrete. 1400 carp will only do minimum to the area. You need to introduce a lot more fish and some species like crawfish or water snail at the bottom of the water food chain. Actually introducing fast spreading but easy harvesting water hyacinth will clean the water significantly. However, I doubt the government will introduce these foreign species. Another fundamental way to clean up the canal is mechanically clean the bottom, but who is going to pay?