Minnesota, Wisconsin DNR tackle invasive carp on Mississippi

LA CROSSE, Wis. (AP) — Fisheries crews from Wisconsin and Minnesota plan to gather near La Crosse next month and attempt a new technique to remove invasive carp from the Mississippi River.

The so-called modified unified method combines netting and herding techniques to drive and concentrate fish from a large area into a small zone for removal.

The effort will be focused on taking out bighead, grass and silver carp. They are non-native species that have wreaked ecological havoc in the Illinois, Missouri and Ohio river systems and are spreading north in the Mississippi.

The work is scheduled to begin April 5. It will be conducted by the Minnesota and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Journal Sentinel reported.

It will be the first time the modified unified method has been used in Wisconsin or Minnesota waters, including the first time it has been used anywhere across the country as an early detection and rapid response technique, according to the Wisconsin DNR.

The intensive effort was designed as part of a response to the capture of 39 silver carp and 12 grass carp in the La Crosse area in March 2020. Eight additional invasive carp have been captured in this year.