Asian fish caught in Estonian waters

Helsinki, 8 September (HELCOM) – Bighead carp, an alien fish originating from the lowland rivers of northern and southern China, has been caught in the Pärnu Bay by a commercial fisherman at the end of August. The fish was of large size, being 1 m long and weighing 14.5 kg.

It is already the second time a specimen of the bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) has been discovered in the Baltic waters. The first catch was recorded in 2002, also in the Pärnu Bay, Estonia.

The alien fish is a planktivorous freshwater species and attains a large size. It has the potential to reduce native diversity by depleting zooplankton populations thus altering the food web.

The species is introduced to numerous countries and has achieved a near global distribution, but it is supposedly unable to reproduce in the Baltic Sea because of its low temperature.

This Asian carp most probably came to the Baltic Sea with ship’s ballast water.