WTM":1r7nljpw said:
thats not too high. optimal ph levels for growth is between 6.5 and 8.5. i dont do faceytweets or id answer his question as to why its higher there. its because of the gazillion tons of crushed and gabel limestone that they piled on that 4 mile stretch from the bridge to birdsong exit 133 to 3 lane it for the truckers. all of the runoff from that is dumping right into the river on the west side. its not a problem as long as the ph doesnt get above 9, and luckily its mixing with that black acidic water from the tie yards up through there. when they where piling that stone up there i told my wife that may cause a problem.
Heres what he first posted on facebook,copy and pasted
Hi guys, it is very interesting for me to read all the opinions on here regarding the invasive species. I surely respect everyone's opinion and certainly realize that we have Problems in this Lower Tennessee River. It certainly puts a tear in my eye to feel the hurt from the downfall of a resource that we have taken for granted and enjoyed so much over the years.
I want to throw a few opinions out there to everyone for considering which are entirely based on my lifetime of "water time" as a sport fisherman, commercial fisherman, commercial shell diver, as well as a die hard tournament crappie fisherman. I graduated from Murray State University in 1989 with many hours spent on Ky Lake in getting my degree in Wildlife/ Fisheries Management. I have seen many changes in the many lakes and rivers where I have traveled over the 40 years that I have been Blessed to enjoy. The changes that occur are many times identified exactly and corrected to the best of our biological ability by State and Federal Agencies. Other changes are never identified and after a few years our relentless natural world repairs itself in its own natural way. Sometimes with nature the repair seems quiet cruel with decimation of a species in an area etc. It's typically a disease or starvation epidemic which puts nature back into check with both game and fish.
My opinion of this change is this...... certainly the invasive species which is most visible, the CARP, is getting the most attention and blame. Please don't overlook other water quality factors and other invasive species as well. I target water chemistry, which I have had some experience with from my time spent with native and invasive (Zebra)mollusks. Like the carp, they also consume plankton and phytoplankton which is the essence of our ecosystem. An acidic system is deadly to an aquatic world. Preferred ph between 6. 5 and 8.5 can shift slightly and cause huge changes like we are experiencing now. Actually a shift in ph of 1.4 is considered drastic. When the ph changes it actually "gives" or "takes away" our aquatic weed growth. The system is hugely complex when ph moves up or down the scale. As important as "rain" can be it also is very acidic when it falls depending on atmospheric pollution at the given time of development and like Zebras add to our ever increasing acidic underwater world. I have not read one complaint that the growing population of multimillions of mussels both native and non native could be a problem. The shell industry as we knew it 20 years ago is no longer. Our shell population has grown hugely in the past few years. Because shells can't be identified by side image nor do they jump in our boats puts them out of sight to most.
When we consider other increasing problems with our growing world it seems that water quality needs to be put under the microscope. If you consider the growing human populations of huge cities along the flow of the Tennessee like Knoxville and Chattanooga and the amounts of waste water (Chlorine) that enters the system it is overwhelming. Facilities are allowed to release X amounts in parts per million and certainly we should recognize that the big problem seems to be most evident from Pickwick downstream. Chlorine and it's derivatives are very harmful to any aquatic life and increasingly harmful as water temps increase. We are at the "bottom of the pile" if you will, on this Lower Tennessee.
I have mentioned some potentials above and realize several more. Now I want to give you my personal observations regarding the non native carp.
Since the Silver and later Bighead was identified by Dr. Etinier/Parmalee in Fishes of Tennessee in the mid 80s which was caught by me in a gill net on the Mississippi River near Island 21 in Dyer Co. the population has grown and spread. Reelfoot Lake which I call my home lake has supported the exotic species in increasing numbers for more than 30 years. Today we are catching the best quality crappie of my life here at Reelfoot. I realize that the population of carp in Pickwick Lake resembles that of Ky Lake and Today the Crappie Fishing is awesome with great quality fish being caught. I have many examples from my travels where carp are present and crappie are doing very well. I have other examples in oxbows where carp are present with ultra shallow waters and the sheer ruckus that they cause merely makes it near impossible to catch a Crappie on a hook. It's not that the crappie don't coexist. This I have evidenced from the use of gill nets by a friend commercial fisherman.
I know that I have rambled a few of my opinions and said all above to say this..........We as sportsmen, sportswomen, outdoor lovers, politicians, biologists, chemists, etc. should not overlook other possibilities in the downfall of a resource. I can almost guess with good reasoning that all the problems with crappie on the Lower Tennessee is not completely caused by our invasive carp species. Yes, they are a problem that we and our complex and entire ecosystem may have to adjust to living with since any logical eradication program is going to cause even worse problems. An aggressive action to reduce the population with any type commercial gear will only be temporary. Unless every single fish is caught and no entry is allowed back into the system could a commercial action work. My minor area of study at Murray State was Chemistry and I believe that in our New Age of Chemistry / Genetics I do believe a potential solution exist for altering the invasive carp species. Anyone with ability in this department we should all encourage to get involved.
Thanks for reading a few of my heart felt opinions. I want the problem to get solved as much as anyone on earth. The exact problem first has to be identified before it can be corrected.
I am with all lovers of our natural world.
Ronnie Capps
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