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<br />'~:~~e:st.. :....::t'CAu.U<~.......r_ ..-- ---
<br />':m;i.tU:re females, 7,6 inches~-'Tlfe largest1.mmature CiS.q}....~-~~
<br />cli~-(males) ; 8.3 inches (females).. (Based on the exami-
<br />:fisb., 5.2 to 12,1 inches long.) Maturity at such a small
<br />",<""","~f-ju_.<:a~p from other Elections of California. -
<br />
<br />"'~'~6Diachs of th~se 55 ~pecimens taken in May from' several
<br />""-.'t1.ver were examined. All were empty. The intestinal
<br />-~r~d to be composed primarily of algae and the remains
<br />;ptimts. , NumerouS studies of carp from other waters have'.
<br />i~-rthat it is omnivorouS,
<br />
<br />~6..FiShery. Unlike most people in California, the local resi-
<br />:a:'whole do not evidence a very strong antipathy towards the
<br />'~~aking, it is neither praised nor condemned. Many
<br />er..'citizens-:nSli-put1)osely' for:,this-.fish.:as.food._using"J~,,~ne
<br />'~ous types of baits. Carp are also used -eitheras-Uve-'--'--'
<br />llifbait:
<br />afJiea~be carp appeared in the Salton Sea in great numbers
<br />,aIe'(i:'o.ff ; between 1906 and 1915 according to Thompson
<br />~itipsOn and Bryant (1920) said: ". · · some eight years
<br />]iJof-.started' a company with the idea of using these carp,
<br />,~,water fish, for oil and fertilizer. Having built the
<br />'~,jt&"instal1ed machinery and launched boats in the 'sea,
<br />:3'Wasunable to operate because it was unable to find suBi-
<br />-~~ith the revival of mullet fishing in the Salton Sea in
<br />~~'l)'are now being taken commercially here. Special'
<br />--~ircommercial capture in other waters of the Colorado,
<br />Ji.'iSsiled by Arizona and California recently. In the fall
<br />lZ9-naand California cooperated in obtaining a supply of
<br />';pitnat the Japanese interned at the poston War Reloea-
<br />!~E:.rarker,Ari:wna) could raise them as food.
<br />tthere is no evidence to show that the carp is detrimental
<br />fishery of the Colorado, It is undoubedly a competitor
<br />i};pshes, but it may also be of some value to them as forage.
<br />Q,Wllaratively few bass waters in the United States (good or
<br />"_e~arpare not present. In the turbid and warmer waters of
<br />Rgeit serves to augment an otherwise scanty fish fauna. On
<br />':)hand, there is no good reason to afford this species any protec-
<br />~~J~cllDdlty will undoubtedly preserve it against the heaviest
<br />
<br />",;.'..:--'".,-;y..
<br />
<br />
<br />short anal fin also with spine; two barbels (fleshy "whiskers") e)J1 each
<br />side of the upper jaw.
<br />Most. of the carp seen were of the" scale" variety; only two' (mirror
<br />carp" being found among several hundred specimens.
<br />
<br />Distributionj Abundancej Habitat. The earliest record of the carp in
<br />the lower river is that of Gilbert and Scofield (1898), who reported it as
<br />,'. . . a stranger in the Colorado River" in 1890. These Asiatic
<br />fish had been widely distributed throughout the united States prior to
<br />that time, and those in the river may bave come from several strl(:ks in
<br />several states, '
<br />It is now everywhere abundant in the stream and its distriblltJri.-s.
<br />Carp roll in the clear waters of Lake Havasu and endure with t'tIUani.
<br />mity the silty, brown flood ot'. the Alamo River. They are even found
<br />
<br />FIG, 6i, Fishing for carp (and anything else that will bite), A drain dltcl' !le:H
<br />Palo Verde, ~1ay 1H2,
<br />
<br />in the Salton Sea although their greatest concentration there is nt'a~
<br />the entrance of tributaries where the water is freshest. Tbe adaptabililY
<br />of this species to adverse conditions is well known, and it is not sur,
<br />prising that they are so well established here.
<br />
<br />Size. While the largest carp taken by the survey was 15 inches lon~
<br />much larger ones are found, Messrs, W. C, Blewett and Leo Ro""lrr
<br />report seeing them about 24 inches in length or about 8 pounds,
<br />
<br />R!production. Almost all of the fish taken in the May 19-12, cd.
<br />lections were in spawning condition. Residents reported that they
<br />started spa'wning in Haughtelin Lake in early April of 1942.
<br />
<br />~legans Baird and Girard
<br />
<br />:,!~;Bony-tail; round-tail; Gila trout; Verde trout.
<br />
<br />:iJharacters. Elongate and slender caudal peduncle nar-
<br />~', in front of the caudal fin which is widely forked and has
<br />0- -expansions.
<br />'psonand Bryant (ot!, cit.) did not accept. unreser....edly. the". · -
<br />of others than scientists . . ... that these fish were carp, However.
<br />,,0.'1(, p, U8) Indicates that carp were at least fairly numerous In the
<br />c'and Evermann (1916) said that it was". - - undoubtedlY the most
<br />~.'there In 1916.
<br />
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