Rough Fish - Native Versus Exotic

Native Versus Exotic

Some rough fishes are exotic species that have been transplanted into North American waters from other continents either intentionally or unintentionally (for example, the common carp). Other rough fishes are native species that can be confused with carp because they look similar (bigmouth buffalo, smallmouth buffalo, and suckers). Many of these fishes are difficult to process as food because of their many bones. Still other rough fishes are native fishes completely unlike carp, but are categorized as such because they are underused or unpopular.