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Freshwater fish

Common carp

Cyprinus carpio

Get to know the species, browse the recorded inland fishing grounds and check the rules.

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Common carp
Dezidor (Wikimedia Commons) · source

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Where is Common carp caught?

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Recorded inland fishing grounds

2,875
Lakes and rivers
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Lakes and rivers

Season and suitable conditions

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Peak months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct

Season information is no guarantee of a catch.

Fishing rules for Türkiye

Türkiye

Minimum size
40 cm
Maximum quantity
5 fish

Single-species or mixed total; details and exceptions are in the regulation.

No species-specific closed season is listed; area and method rules still apply.

Legal basis: 6/2 md. 11 – Çizelge 5 communiqué text

Species size/quantity limit

6/2 md. 11 – Çizelge 5

Fish below the size limit or above the quantity limit may not be retained.

The table in our records

Minimum size
40 cm
Maximum quantity
5 fish
Gear and method
Rod and line
Exception
A 5% undersize exception on the size limits; the total 5 kg rule for kg species

The article text is taken from the communiqué. The table above was carried into our own records from the relevant rows of the communiqué and may be abridged. The official publication is what binds. Official communiqué (PDF) →

Before you go, check local area and method restrictions.

How do you recognise a common carp?

Start with the mouth. The FAO species fact sheet lists thick lips and two pairs of barbels at the angle of the mouth, the ones on the upper lip being shorter. FishBase likewise names two pairs of barbels and a deeply emarginate tail fin among the features that set the species apart from other European cyprinids. FAO describes the body as elongated and somewhat compressed: the dorsal fin has a long base with a strong, toothed spine in front, and the lateral line carries 32 to 38 scales. Scales and colour vary from fish to fish. FishBase describes the scales as large and thick, but adds that the species is very variable in form, proportions, scaling and colour. According to FAO, wild carp are brownish-green on the back and upper sides, shading to golden yellow towards the belly; the fins are dusky, with a reddish tinge on their lower parts. The only partly scaled mirror carp is not a separate species: the IUCN Global Invasive Species Database (GISD) states that all these strains are Cyprinus carpio. In WoRMS the accepted name is Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758; the species sits in the order Cypriniformes, family Cyprinidae, AphiaID 154582. The same record flags it as both a freshwater and a brackish-water species.

Where does it live, and what is its life like?

FishBase gives the natural range as Europe to Asia, in the Black Sea, Caspian and Aral basins; it says wild stocks occur naturally only in rivers draining into those three seas, while the species has been introduced throughout the world. According to the same source, carp favour warm, deep, slow-flowing or still waters: lowland rivers and large, well-vegetated lakes. It is hardy, copes with a wide range of conditions and is most active at dusk and dawn. FishBase writes that both adults and juveniles feed on a variety of bottom-dwelling organisms and plant material. Spawning depends on water plants. FishBase reports that carp spawn in shallow, weedy margins, that a spawning female is usually followed by several males, and that the sticky eggs attach to water plants or other submerged objects. According to the same source, females can lay more than a million eggs in a season, spawning takes place between 15 and 20 °C, and the eggs hatch in 4 days. FishBase puts length at first maturity at 34.8 centimetres on average, within a range of 25–36 centimetres. FishBase gives a maximum length of 129 centimetres total length, a common length of 31 centimetres total length, a maximum published weight of 40.1 kilograms and a maximum reported age of 38 years. The same source writes that river regulation and hybridisation with domesticated stocks and with East Asian relatives have caused a continuous decline of wild populations. In FishBase’s IUCN field (global, version 2025-2) the species is listed as Least Concern (LC), assessed on 9 June 2022; the IUCN record itself is the authoritative source for the current category.

Species profile

Common carp
Scientific name
Cyprinus carpio
Water type
Freshwater

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum size for Common carp?

In recreational angling the minimum catch size for Common carp is 40 cm. Fish below that length have to be returned to the water. Legal basis: 6/2 md. 11 – Çizelge 5.

Which seas is Common carp found in?

In our records Common carp appears in these seas: Lakes and rivers — Switzerland, Lakes and rivers — Northern Germany, Lakes and rivers — Southern Germany, Lakes and rivers — North-West France, Lakes and rivers — North-East France, Lakes and rivers — Southwestern France, Lakes and rivers — Southeastern France, Lakes and rivers — Eastern Germany, Lakes and rivers — Western Germany, Lakes and rivers — Netherlands, Lakes and rivers — Belgium, Lakes and rivers — Northwestern Spain, Lakes and rivers — Northeastern Spain, Lakes and rivers — Central Spain, Lakes and rivers — Southern Spain, Lakes and rivers — Canary Islands, Lakes and rivers — Northern Poland, Lakes and rivers — Southern Poland, Lakes and rivers — Western Romania, Lakes and rivers — Eastern Romania, Lakes and rivers — Bulgaria, Lakes and rivers — Czechia, Lakes and rivers — Hungary, Lakes and rivers — Serbia, Lakes and rivers — Kosovo, Lakes and rivers — North Macedonia, Lakes and rivers — Luxembourg, Lakes and rivers — Corsica, Lakes and rivers — Austria.

In which months is Common carp at its peak?

Peak periods by sea: Lakes and rivers — Southern Germany May–October; Lakes and rivers — Northern Germany May–October; Lakes and rivers — Eastern Germany May–October; Lakes and rivers — Western Germany June–October; Lakes and rivers — North-East France June–October; Lakes and rivers — Southeastern France June–October; Lakes and rivers — Southwestern France June–October; Lakes and rivers — North-West France May–October; Lakes and rivers — Corsica May–October; Lakes and rivers — Netherlands April–September; Lakes and rivers — Belgium June–September; Lakes and rivers — Northeastern Spain May–October; Lakes and rivers — Central Spain May–October; Lakes and rivers — Canary Islands May–October; Lakes and rivers — Southern Spain May–October; Lakes and rivers — Northwestern Spain May–October; Lakes and rivers — Bulgaria June–October; Lakes and rivers — Western Romania July–October; Lakes and rivers — Eastern Romania July–October; Lakes and rivers — Austria July–September; Lakes and rivers — Switzerland May–October; Lakes and rivers — Southern Poland April–October; Lakes and rivers — Northern Poland April–October; Lakes and rivers — Czechia April–September; Lakes and rivers — Hungary April, June, July, August, September; Lakes and rivers — Serbia June–October; Lakes and rivers — Kosovo May–October; Lakes and rivers — North Macedonia July–October; Lakes and rivers — Luxembourg July–September.

How big does a common carp get, and how long does it live?

The sources do not agree on one figure. FishBase lists a maximum length of 129 centimetres total length and a maximum published weight of 40.1 kilograms; its common-length field says 31 centimetres. The IUCN Global Invasive Species Database (GISD), citing another study, reports that carp can reach 120 centimetres and 60 kilograms. Age is similar: FishBase gives a maximum reported age of 38 years, while GISD cites a typical lifespan of 13–20 years in the wild and records one individual that reached 47 years in captivity.

What does a common carp eat?

It is omnivorous. The FAO species fact sheet describes carp as omnivores with a marked tendency towards animal food: water insects and their larvae, worms, molluscs and zooplankton, plus the stalks, leaves and seeds of aquatic and land plants and decaying water plants. The IUCN Global Invasive Species Database (GISD) writes that adults suck up mud, expel it and pick out the food, digging into the sediment to a depth of about 12 centimetres. FishBase adds that carp have also been seen sucking in floating insects at the surface.

Is the mirror carp a separate species?

No. The IUCN Global Invasive Species Database (GISD) writes that the variants known as mirror carp are only partly scaled, with a few very large scales in patches or along the midline of the body, and states that all strains belong to the same species, Cyprinus carpio. The same source describes the brightly coloured koi as an ornamental strain of this species. FishBase writes that the species has a marked tendency to produce "varieties" and "races" in response to selective breeding and environmental influences.

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