FY24 monitoring and response to invasive carp at the presence front in the upper mississippiriver basin mndnr project abstract minnesota DNR, wisconsin DNR, and partners continue to adaptively develop…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) awarded a $415,000 Project Grant under the Fish and Aquatic Conservation - Aquatic Invasive Species (CFDA 15.608) program to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) and partners. The funding supports the continued development and implementation of a comprehensive monitoring and response program for invasive carp (bighead, silver, black, and grass carp) in the upper Mississippi River basin. Key activities include:

• Monitoring to determine the current status and location of invasive carp in Minnesota waters to inform management actions
• Tagging and tracking of adult invasive carp to reveal movement and seasonal patterns, enabling improved capture efforts
• Coordinated invasive carp removal events with commercial fishers to reduce spawning risk in the upper Mississippi River
• Expansion of tagging/tracking and testing of new technologies to enhance invasive carp capture capabilities
• Hiring of an invasive carp point of contact and building capacity at the Wisconsin DNR to address this issue

The project will run from October 1, 2024 through December 31, 2026, with final sampling reports and data to be made available at the conclusion.

FY24 monitoring and response to invasive carp at the presence front in the upper mississippiriver basin mndnr project abstract minnesota DNR, wisconsin DNR, and partners continue to adaptively develop and implement acomprehensive monitoring and response program for bighead, silver, black, and grass carps inthe upper mississippi river basin. Monitoring activities help determine the current status andlocation of invasive carp in minnesota waters, important knowledge for implementingmanagement actions. Tagging and tracking adult invasive carp reveals patterns in movement andseasonality that have aided in the capture of several hundred invasive carp in minnesota andborder waters to date. Responding to invasive carp has taken on an increased significance sincecaptures began to increase in 2020. Now, minnesota DNR is partnering with wisconsin DNR, USGS, USFWS, NPS, and wild rivers conservancy to implement large coordinated removalevents, expand tagging and tracking, and to test new technologies to enhance our ability tocapture invasive carp. Commercial fishers will be contracted to remove invasive carp from thesystem and reduce the risk of spawning in the upper mississippi river. Wisconsin DNR will alsouse funding from this project to hire an invasive carp point of contact and begin to build theiragencys capacity to address this issue. Final sampling reports and data from removed or taggedinvasive carp will be available at the conclusion of this project.