Invasive Fish SpeciesBitterling
Member of the Minnow (Cyprinidae) family. Introduced potentially as an aquarium release.
Common Carp
Member of the Minnow (Cyprinidae) family. First introduced to North America in the 1870s as a food and sport fish. Common carp are now widely distributed throughout southern Canada and most of the United States.
Goldfish
Member of the Minnow (Cyprinidae) family. Introduced to the United States in the 1800s as an ornamental fish. Introductions from intentional releases of goldfish have been reported in every U.S. state except for Alaska.
Ide
Member of the Minnow (Cyprinidae) family. Potentially released as an aquarium release or from aquaculture.
Round Goby
Member of the Goby (Gobiidae) family. Introduced to the Great Lakes region in 1990 in the St. Clair River through ballast tanks of ships.
Rudd
Member of the Minnow (Cyprinidae) family. Introduced to the United States in early 1900s as a food and game species. Arkansas fish farmers began culturing for the bait industry in the early 1980s.
Sea Lamprey
Member of the Lamprey (Petromyzontidae) family. Introduced to the Great Lakes through shipping canals around 1919 and by 1939 it had spread to all five Great Lakes.
Stone Moroko
Member of the Minnow (Cyprinidae) family. Introduced into ponds in the 1960s throughout Europe. They are the carrier of a parasite (Sphaerothecum destruens) that can negatively impact native fish populations.