Invasive Asian Carps in North America

Alternative Methods to Use of Black Carp for Snail Control in Aquaculture Ponds

Anita M. Kelly

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874233.ch6

Abstract.—Diagenetic trematodes, which include black grub Uvulifer ambloplitis, white grub Posthodiplostomum minimum, and yellow grub Clinostomum spp., parasitize many aquaculture fishes throughout North America. Black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus have been used in aquaculture facilities since the 1990s as a biological control of snail populations infected with yellow grub. In the late 1990s, black carp were also used in channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus ponds to control snail populations that were the vector for a recently introduced trematode Bolbophorus spp. Because black carp is a nonnative species and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed black carp as injurious under the Lacey Act, alternative methods of snail control are necessary. I here review alternative methods, discuss advantages and disadvantages to each, and provide cost comparisons. I also provide information on current and future research into alternative snail control methods for aquaculture.