Grass Carp Control Hydrilla but Eliminate Vegetation in Smith Mountain Lake

/ Published in Aquatic Invasive Species, Lake & Waterway Management
Native to Africa and believed to have been introduced to American waters from the aquarium trade in the 1960’s, hydrilla has quickly spread across the southern U.S. from Connecticut to California.
In 2013, 6,000 sterile grass carp were introduced into Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, to combat the growth of invasive aquatic vegetation such as hydrilla which has seen a massive growth around the lake. When hydrilla was first discovered at the lake in 2007, a patch of the aquatic weeds were just a few acres in