News release: Tagged fish lead biologists to school of invasive carp in Mississippi River Pool 8

Public may see increased capture operations in the area this week

Invasive carp previously fitted with acoustic tags have led the Minnesota DNR and its state and federal partners to a school of invasive carp in Pool 8 of the Mississippi River at the confluence of the Root River in Minnesota, near La Crosse, Wisconsin.

“Tracking tagged invasive carp like these help us identify where the fish are gathering in the river and target them for removal. This surveillance and detection effort is one key strategy that the DNR and partner agencies are using to prevent and manage invasive carp,” said DNR Invasive Species Unit Supervisor Kelly Pennington.

A team of U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) biologists, who partner with DNR to share tagged carp monitoring data, notified the DNR last week of 10 tagged Grass Carp and Silver Carp in the location, with reports that invasive carp were observed jumping out of the water. Silver Carp sometimes jump out of the water when disturbed...