Workers with [name of organization or company] release

Workers with [name of organization or company] release the first batch of more than 17,000 sterile, grass-eating carp into the J. Strom Thurmond Lake near Augusta, Georgia, Oct. 25, 2017. The fish form a part of management strategies identified in the April 2016 Avian Vacuolar Myelinopathy (AVM) Plan for the J. Strom Thurmond Project. The sterile carp should reduce the abundance of hydrilla by 50 percent, according to research by the Corps of Engineers. Incremental stockings will occur over the next three years. A licensed contractor will release an estimated 17,725 grass carp during the initial operation. Hydrilla is an invasive, noxious aquatic weed found throughout much of the United States. Hydrilla affects shoreline uses in shallow areas especially during the late summer and autumn, however, the vast majority of the lake remains navigable. Hydrilla goes dormant during the winter and re-sprouts from the root system during late spring and summer.Research shows AVM transmitted through hydrilla kills a variety of water fowl that eat hydrilla and raptors that feed on the waterfowl. The weed carries a blue-green toxin called cyanobacterium. Cyanobacteria attach to aquatic vegetation during late autumn and winter (November-February). Species known to be affected include bald eagle, American coot, great horned owl, killdeer, Canada goose, mallard, ring-necked duck, scaup, and bufflehead. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Kenneth Boyd.)