One group of aquatic invasive species that could make its way into the Great Lakes and have a major negative ecological and socioeconomic impact is Asian carps. One species, the grass carp, has currently spread to lakes Erie, Michigan, and Ontario. Three tributaries of Lake Erie in Ohio waters have shown signs of fish larvae or eggs. Grass Carp are occasionally caught in Canadian tributaries of the Great Lakes, despite the fact that there is no proof of their reproduction in Canadian waters. The early detection surveillance field program upholds the program's pillars of prevention and early warning for Asian carp. Larval and egg sampling in high-risk tributaries of the Great Lakes is a component of the early detection field activity that aims to verify the absence of reproducing populations of Asian Carps (mainly, Grass Carp).
The larval and egg sampling is conducted every May – July following high rainfall events, as this is one of the triggers that induces Asian carp spawning. The need to use genetic analysis to identify the samples is on-going with every sampling season utilizing larval fish sampling.
