Prompts winter weather advisories as cold air moves in Friday night

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Minnesota conservation officials said Monday that a silver carp — the kind that in other states is known to leap out of the water and cause havoc for boaters — was recently caught in the St. Croix River near Prescott, Wis.

The carp was caught by a commercial fishing operation during routine spring netting around where two silver carp were caught in 2017, the first time the fish had been confirmed in the St. Croix, the 

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources said in a statement

Invasive silver carp found for first time in St. Croix


The most recently captured silver carp was a male more than 26 inches long and weighing 7 pounds.


While the DNR continues to be concerned about the potential impact of invasive carp in the St. Croix River and other Minnesota waters, individual adult fish captures do not indicate reproduction or an established population of invasive carp in the St. Croix, DNR invasive fish coordinator Nick Frohnauer said in a statement.

Could springtime flooding lead to spread of invasive carp?

Here's how invasive carp harm rivers


"In this instance, there was one invasive carp out of the hundreds of fish handled in the haul," Frohnauer said.

Invasive carp progressed upstream since escaping into the Lower Mississippi River in the 1970s. These large fish compete with native species and pose a threat to rivers and lakes. No breeding populations have been detected in Minnesota waters, the DNR said.

Individual invasive carp have been caught as far upstream in Mississippi River Pool 2 near the Twin Cities.

In June 2017, an angler fishing a private gravel pit within the Minnesota River floodplain near Redwood Falls in southwestern Minnesota 

 measuring nearly 4 feet and weighing 62 pounds.

Environmental News

NewsPartners

MPR News Staff

Author

Minnesota conservation officials said Monday that a silver carp was recently caught in the St. Croix near Prescott, Wis., but that there is no indication of reproduction or an established population in the river.

DNR: Invasive silver carp caught on St. Croix River

Go Deeper.

Like this?