Title: Asian carp found in St. Croix River - first silver carp
Headings: Invasive silver carp found for the first time in St. Croix River
Invasive silver carp found for the first time in St. Croix River
Content: Silver carp are notorious for their proclivity to leap out of the water when boats approach. They’re also regarded as a major threat to native species and the state’s deep love of fishing. But St. Croix lovers shouldn’t fear the carp-pocalypse quite yet. The fish was found near the confluence of the St. Croix and the Mississippi rivers at Prescott, Wis. Silver carp already had been found farther upstream in the Mississippi,, and biologists have long suspected fish would swim unimpeded up the St. Croix and be detected sooner or later. Image courtesy Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Bighead carp — another prominent invasive Asian carp — have been found in those waters as well. “This news is disappointing but not unexpected,” said DNR invasive fish coordinator Nick Frohnauer. “ The silver carp was captured within viewing distance of the St. Croix’s confluence with the Mississippi River. In 2014, two silver carp were found in the Mississippi only a short distance upstream from where the St. Croix and Mississippi meet.” Biologists have not yet uncovered evidence of a reproducing population of either species in the metro waters — a key distinction in their strategy to slow their invasion. “The location where the carp were captured is a well-known over-wintering area for several species of fish,” Frohnauer said in a news release. “