Huge Haul of Invasive Carp From Mississippi Near Winona

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Winona, MN (KROC-AM News) - Over 300 invasive carp were captured this week in the Mississippi River near Winona.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reporting that 296 silver carp, 23 grass carp, and 4 bighead carp were caught on Thursday in an area of the river known as Pool 6 south of Winona near Trempealeau, Wisconsin. It is being described as the largest single capture of invasive carp to occur in Minnesota. The previous record was 51 invasive carp captured in the spring of 2020.

A DNR news release says the large capture was made possible by tracking tagged invasive carp, which led to the removal by DNR staff and commercial fishers contracted by the agency.

“Tagging and tracking of invasive carp by the DNR and its partners is working and leading to the successful removal of fish in Minnesota,” DNR Invasive Carp Coordinator Grace Loppnow said. “Wisconsin DNR crews located six tagged invasive carp in Pool 6 last week. Those detections, along with observations by our contracted commercial fisher, led to the successful removal of these invasive carp.”

The DNR plans to conduct additional netting operations in the same area next week. The agency says it's unlikely that the adult fish captured in the Mississippi River this week were the result of reproduction taking place in Minnesota.

The DNR news release says increased reports of invasive carbon data from tagged fish suggest they were moving in the river during the extended spring flooding this year when the high water conditions allowed fish to move past open dams.