Video Showing Jumping Asian Carp Fish Attacking Boaters: Facts

Story:

Jumping Asian Carp Fish Attacking Boaters.

Other Versions

Carp Attack!

Analysis:

An interesting video in circulation online since few years claims to show a strange and funny incident where a group of young people riding on boat are attacked by many Jumping Asian Carp Fishes. Although it raises certain speculations, the video of carp attack is real, but as such, the flying fishes are not attacking the people in boat.

Picture Showing Jumping Asian Carp Fish Attacking Boaters — Jumping Asian Carp Fish Attacking Boaters

About the Video

The video in question was uploaded to YouTube on 7 Nov 2010 by a user J Bood with a title ‘CARP ATTACK [Carpé Diem!]‘. As you can see in the description of the video, it was also suggested by Vin Di Bona Productions’ television program America’s Funniest Home Videos. The incident whereabouts is described as:

My brother, nephews and a friend go “fishing” down a small drainage ditch sometime during the summer of ’10 near the flooded Spoon River in West Central Illinois, USA.

Upon their return home, they counted 70+ 5-10lb. Asian Carp that had landed in the boat.. The funniest part, is that Matthew, my youngest nephew, is curled up in the fetal position in the front of the boat the entire time, and you never see him! Also it is absolutely infinitely more hilarious when viewed in slow motion.

Asian Carp

In United States, Asian Carp is a collective term used for the species of heavy-bodied cyprinid fishes. Certain varieties like the Silver carp have become notorious for being easily frightened by boats and personal watercrafts, which is what causes them to leap high into the air. Silver carp can jump up to 2.5–3 m (8–10 feet) into the air, and according to the US Environmental Protection Agency EPA, they have severely injured numerous boaters with such collisions, which include cuts from fins, broken bones, back injuries, concussions and blackening of eyes. Interestingly, the jumping ability of the Asian carp fishes is taken advantage as a mechanism of hunting them; the incident shown in the video appears to be the same.

One Such Incident

On 10 April 2015, when a group of first year students from Washington University were undergoing a rowing training session along Creve Coeur Lake in Missouri, they were bombarded with hundreds of giant flying fish. The incident shown in the second video was captured from the banks by Junior Benjamin Rosenbaum, the captain of the varsity team. Interestingly, Benjamin experienced one such incident before in 2013, when he was in a boat. Talking about that experience he said, “They’re huge fish. They hurt when then hit you in the rib cage. I thought someone behind me had punched me“. Rosenbaum also said the motor from the coach’s boat might have aggravated the fish. According to Viv Shears, the director of VS Fisheries, it is not an aggressive attack of the Asian Carp fishes, but an escape mechanism.
Asian carp are considered an invasive species, according to some news reports; they have even infiltrated waterways in Missouri. While it appears like good fun to watch and experience such flying fishes during boating, it is not a laughing matter; it can also be dangerous at times. If you don’t believe us, watch the last video, a montage of the fish hits during Bowfishing.