Asian Carp in the Mississippi

Visit the Asian Carp Overview page for more information on these fish.

7/11/2012
The National Park Service is encouraging boaters to trailer boats around the locks instead of going through them. This will minimize the chance that Asian carp will pass through the locks and into uninfested waters. Please do your part to help stop these fish! For more information, click here.

6/07/2012
The DNR has officially announced the infestation of waters south of Lock and Dam No. 2 on the Mississippi River by bighead and silver carp. Due to the confirmed presence of Asian carp, it is now illegal to harvest bait and transport water from this area of the river. For a list of other lakes and rivers newly designated as "infested waters", visit the MNDNR's website.

10/20/2011
Mississippi River testing confirms presence of silver carp DNA as far up as Lock and Dam No. 1. Of the 50 samples gathered downstream of the dam, 14 tested positive for presence of silver carp DNA. See the sampling map (PDF, 1.1mb) and Minnesota DNR Press Release for detailed information.

8/11/2011
On June 28 and June 29, 2011, eDNA Solutions, Inc. conducted environmental DNA (eDNA) testing in the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers for Black, Bighead and Silver carp. Testing on the St. Croix occurred from below the dam at Taylors Falls and continued 4.3 miles downstream. The testing on the Mississippi covered a reach from immediately below low Lock and Dam No. 1 (Ford Dam) to the mouth of the Minnesota River about 3.5 miles downstream. See the report, eDNA Surveillance of Asian Carp on the St. Croix and Mississippi River (PDF, 500kb) for detailed findings.

Of the 50 samples taken on the 3.5 mile stretch of the Mississippi River:

• All samples tested negative for bighead carp
• All samples tested negative for black carp
• 14 samples tested positive for silver carp

Funding for the study has been provided by the Mississippi River Fund and St. Croix National Scenic Riverway Fund of the St. Croix Valley Foundation.

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Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)

US Fish and Wildlife Service

Asian carp (bighead, black, grass and silver) are moving up the Mississippi River from Iowa. Individual Asian carp have been found in the Mississippi River as far north as Lock and Dam No. 2 and St. Croix Falls, and we are working to monitor the river to make sure there are no reproducing populations in Minnesota. Because of their potential to disrupt the ecosystems of rivers and lakes, the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is working on a plan to stop them as far down stream as possible.

The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area convened meetings with representatives of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Fish and Wildlife Service, City of Minneapolis and Three Rivers Park District to develop an Asian carp action plan for the Mississippi River in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. We recognize that stakeholder and public participation is essential to this process.

The current action plan is a four step approach to minimize the effect Asian carp have on the Mississippi, St. Croix, and Minnesota rivers. The four steps include: early detection and response, prevention and deterrence, mitigation and control, and outreach and communication.

 

Additional Information

• 2011 Obama Administration Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework
• Army Corps of Engineers: Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study
• Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (asiancarp.us)
• Minnesota DNR: Preventing the Introduction of Asian Carp into Minnesota
• Minnesota DNR: Minnesota's Watershed Basins
• Wisconsin DNR: Asian Carp Control Efforts
• USGS: Asian Carp Invasion of the Upper Mississippi River System (2000)