http://66.225.205.104/LM20090604.mp3
Hydrilla. It has a monstrous ring to it and for good reason. Hydrilla is an invasive aquatic weed that can grow twenty feet high and can even takeover lakes. At one time it covered about 400 acres of Lake Norman and 600 of Mountain Island Lake. There are several other lakes along the Catawba River that are infested with hydrilla grass. For several years now, the state and Duke Energy have called in the troops to exterminate the weed-thousands of grass-eating carp. Hydrilla tops North Carolina's weed hit list. Duke Energy biologist, Ken Manuel works closely with the state's Department of Environment and Natural Resources to exterminate the grass. "Hydrilla is one of those extremely aggressive invasive plants if it enters water systems and is left unchecked, it'll actually destroy the habitat for multiple-use," explains Manuel. "You can't swim in it, you can't boat in it, and also it can be a public health nuisance because of mosquito breeding." Many anglers regard carp as trash fish. But they're very valuable in the war against hydrilla. For the last seven years, the state has dumped thousands of grass carp in Catawba River lakes. They eat the hydrilla grass down to its root. Last week about 500 sterile grass carp were unloaded in Mountain Island Lake. Nearly 3,500 more were unloaded in Lakes Norman, Wylie, Howell, and Belews in Rockingham County. "If you walk away and don't do anything after a year or so just because you no longer see the plant, within another year you can be back battling it again," says Manuel. "And so this way by continuing the strategy of supplemental stocking the fish through low numbers through time, we have a better possibility of managing the weed through the long haul." Hydrilla is native to central Africa and is thought to have hitched a ride to North America through the aquarium plant trade. People put the fast-growing hydrilla in their aquariums and when the fish died, emptied them out in the lakes. Boats help spread the hydrilla from lake to lake. At first, the grass was popular with some anglers, especially bass fishermen. "All the tournaments the catches doubled and tripled in weight and experienced anglers were able to go out and have banner days fishing around that grass," says Stanley Correll. Correll has guided fishing trips on the region's lakes for a dozen years. He's spent most of his time on Lake James and has mixed feelings about the carp. He says the bass fishing hasn't been as good since the fish began eating up the hydrilla. "I think most bass fishermen will agree to that," adds Correll. "But I understand the opposition. It's a non-native species and anytime you introduce a non-native vegetation into an area it could have an adverse effect." For example the fish ultimately destroy bass breeding grounds, according to Duke Energy's Ken Manuel. He says it's been an education process. "We've heard bass fishermen tell us they've moved hydrilla around because they feel like it enhances the fishery," says Manuel. Lake Norman fishing guide Gus Gustafson welcomes the grass carp. Speaking from his cell phone on his fishing boat, he says hydrilla only has short-term benefits. "The downside of hydrilla is that it'll just overtake the whole lake and make it just a mosquito-infested body of water at the end of the story," explains Gustafson. Gustafson won't have to worry the imported grass carp will overrun the lakes. These carp are sterile and they only have a life expectancy of 10 years instead of the usual 20 or 30.