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A single 24-inch specimen was among five Asian carp caught by a commercial fisherman last week in backwaters near the city, said Ron Benjamin, La Crosse fisheries supervisor for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The fish were discovered Wednesday at a market in Pepin, Wis., and reported to the Minnesota DNR. Also in the net were two grass carp and a bighead carp, plus another unidentified carp that got away.
Grass and bighead carp have turned up before in this area, Benjamin said, but the appearance of the silver is cause for concern. It previously had been found no farther upstream than Clinton, Iowa.
Silver carp, which grow up to 60 pounds and are excited by the vibrations of propellers, are a hazard when they leap into the paths of boaters.
And as an invasive species, they are a threat to the river’s ecosystem. How big a threat is unclear, Benjamin said. “Just to say, it’s a bad thing.”
Benjamin suspects the fish made their way upstream during the spring flooding, when high waters topped dams that usually blocked their path.
However, the DNR cautions boaters to drain and clean their boats and never to move fish from one body of water to another.
Ice will prevent the DNR from sampling the river this season, but the agency, along with its Minnesota and Iowa counterparts and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will monitor commercial fish hauls.
Because they feed on plankton, silver carp usually are not hooked by sport anglers, but anyone who finds one should report it.
“There probably are more out there,” Benjamin said.
bartski wrote on Dec 3, 2008 11:56 PM: