Common Carp

Names in dialect: bulber, carpa regina, carpa a spegi.

Similar to Crucian carp only bigger, carp have two pairs of short barbs attached to their upper jaws and come in a wide variety of shapes. Large scales usually cover the whole body (“queen carp”), but can also be absent (“naked carp” or “leather carp”) or extra large and spread unevenly, mainly on the back and along the middle line of the flanks (”mirror carp”). During the spawning period males, which are smaller than the females, develop breeding tubercles (also a common feature of other Cyprinids). Carp can achieve weights in excess of 30 kg and 130 cm in length.
In Trentino carp are found in almost all still waters below one thousand metres above sea level. They are also common in deep, slow flowing waters that contain plenty of vegetation. They can live in cold water though they prefer temperatures of between 15 and 25 °C.
This long-living species (20 years and over) has a fairly varied diet but prefers the invertebrates that live on riverbeds. They breed around the age of 3-4 years, between May and July, when the females deposit thousands of small eggs near the banks, which stick to underwater plants. After 5-10 days, the fry hatch and can grow to as long as 18 cm in the first year. In the winter carp hibernate buried in the mud.
Originating from Central and Eastern Europe and Asia, carp were introduced into Italy at the time of the Roman Empire and were selectively bred by monks into different shapes and colourations. When carp are caught, they are kept alive for a few days in fresh, clear water before they are eaten to enable them to lose their earthy flavour; specimens weighing over one kg are delicious when prepared in this way and cooked according to traditional recipes.
Carp play an important role in Eastern Europe and even more so in Asia where they are raised in ponds, some of which are huge (hundreds of hectares) fertilised with organic effluent. This fish has an incredible ability to recycle waste and transform it into precious protein.