Freshwater fish

European carp

Cyprinus carpio

Primarily freshwater lakes and slow-moving waters with soft sediment

Photo: (c) rmjb, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC-BY · Source and license. Displayed as a resized crop. Photograph illustrates the species.

Habitat: Primarily freshwater lakes and slow-moving waters with soft sediment
Habitat zone: Bottom-associated freshwater habitat; numeric range not established here
Viewing activities: Not classified

What to look for

A deep-bodied fish with large scales and a long dorsal fin.

Identification and naming

A Chesapeake watershed record does not make this an open-ocean species. Regional searches include estuarine and connected waters.

When to look

The available records do not establish a reliable local viewing season. Use the map’s month filter to inspect dated observations; it does not predict an encounter.

RECORDED PRESENCE

Where has European carp been recorded?

These destination links use the same area and date cutoff as the map: 40 km circles, except for the four named regional rectangles. Checked 2026-09-19. Counts describe source records, not individual animals or sighting odds.

Chesapeake BayVirginia & Maryland, United StatesRegional rectangle · 6058 source records since 2016About this destination →

Sources, search boundaries and limitations