THE WOODLANDS SEEKS PERMISSION TO DEPLOY MUTANT FISH TO FIGHT WATERWAY WEEDS 
The Woodlands Development Company has filed a request with the state to add some genetically sterile Asiatic grass carp in the development’s Waterway feature, Catherine Dominguez notes in the Houston Chronicle. The fish are a proposed answer to the bushy pondweed and algae blooms that have recently been clogging up the created channel, which runs from the Lake Woodlands reservoir to the Woodlands Mall alongside I-45. Dominguez writes that the permit request was set in motion by a complaint from Ironman Texas, which at the last minute moved the miles-long water course of its recent Woodlands supertriathlon, citing skepticism that water quality was okay for swimmers. The carp is native to the Amur River that divides northeastern China from Russia; TPWD has issued permits for stocking the fish in Texas since 1992, but only in its deliberately-given-too-many-chromosomes-to-reproduce triploid form. The TPWD’s grass carp permit writeup includes advice on fish deployment, reasonable fish performance expectations, and info on how to prevent fish escape. [Houston Chronicle] Photo of Woodlands Waterway: TheWoodlandsTX.com
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Life finds a way.
Triploid Carp are a lazy solution that only destroys water quality.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply lying to you.
Within a week of releasing these fish all your water will be muddy, and will not reflect blue.
I saw the Channel 13 report, which was an interview with people who clearly didn’t know what they were talking about; or were being led to answer the way a few people wanted them to answer.
Look, if you want a pool, dig a hole in your yard. If you want clear natural water, get Tilapia to control it.
At least they eat mosquito larvae while mowing the “grass”.
I’ve been around here most of my life. Even when I was sent elsewhere, people would ask where I lived. I’d tell them Spring TX. People would smile, and say “Here. Where do you live while you are here?”
My point is, I love this place. I don’t want it to be ruined because someone has a lack of imagination.
I fish these waters all the time, and I have been enjoying the ability to see the fish I target. That, is over if they do this.
Why, back in the day, anyone who claimed to be an Ironman would welcome algae…emerging from the swim with green eyebrows meant you swam too slowly….the snowflakes and posers were easy to spot.
Brilliant, so the woodlands wants to replace algae with fish poop.
I am a native of this area and have fished many of its tributaries and impoundment. I spend 1 to 3 days average weekly in or on the the local waters. I frequent Lake Woodlands and practice and enjoy the sport of catch and release there. It’s a great place for many aquatic activities such as kayaking, paddle boarding, wading etc. Be it a paddle sport, real estate investment, or a stroll along the waterways, I assure you that the clarity and quality of the water are foremost attractions. The addition of carp to control what could be remedied with other techniques such as physical or mechanical methods or even tilapia would result in an outcome not likely to be favored by the community. Invest in professional services to assist if needed, but don’t sacrifice the quality and clarity of one of the most prominent attractions within the Woodlands. Turn the page over,push it to the center of the table, and state “no deal”.
I think carp would be a horrible idea as far as the lake is concerned. I personally was glad to see the shell houston open leave, and am glad the ironman is gone too! The people that want to introduce carp are only doing it for revenue generation in our local economy. All at the cost of the water quality for us that enjoy lake woodlands, and increasing the ever growing traffic issues. If the top athletes in the world could handle the water in Rio, surely they can handle a little algae in lake woodlands. Seems like maybe the term ironman isnt entirely accurate if they are afraid of getting a little algae on their skin tight spandex.
As a teenager I loved going out kayaking on Lake Woodlands. I fell in love with the sport of bass fishing there and the addition of grass carp would most certainly destroy the ecosystem. Don’t take the opportunity away from kids growing up in the woodlands today to get out and enjoy one of the best resources our community has.