Silver carp jump during heavy rains and floods

This is a fish response to extreme environmental stress that occurs during acute hypoxia, when the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water drops to critically low levels.

During heavy precipitation, large volumes of silt, suspended matter, and organic matter enter water bodies, sharply increasing turbidity. This prevents light from penetrating the water column, and photosynthesis by aquatic plants and phytoplankton slows dramatically. At the same time, intensive decomposition of the incoming organic matter begins, which itself actively consumes oxygen, accelerating the development of oxygen deficiency.

Silver carp, sensitive to the slightest changes in oxygen levels, find themselves in a state of acute stress starvation, and their rapid leaps above the surface become an instinctive attempt to reach atmospheric oxygen and avoid suffocation. One of the most notable examples of this behavior was an episode in Shenyang in 2024, when 617 mm of rain fell in four days and hundreds of carp jumped out of the water, creating a chaotic spectacle.