Asian Carp Eggs Found North Of Prairie Du Chien

Asian carp eggs have been found in the Mississippi River north of Prairie du Chien, meaning the aggressive invasive fish is spawning much further north than researchers previously thought.

Asian carp are found swimming sporadically on the Upper Mississippi River, but researchers haven’t found their eggs in the area before. Egg samples were collected last spring north of Keokuk, Iowa. Eggs were found in seven locations, as far north as Lynxville. The findings were released this week by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers.

USGS research fisheries biologist Brent Knights, who was part of the team that found the eggs, said eggs have hatched in the area but it’s unclear if those hatchlings survive.

“They’re known to have some recruitment failure, where those eggs or larvae don’t actually turn into juveniles or adults because of other conditions in the river,” said Knights.

Knight said that this year they could expand their search for eggs in the Mississippi River as far north as Winona, Minn.

Cindy Kolar, an advisor with USGS’s Ecosystem Mission Area, said they’ll be actively bringing together federal and state partners.

“We know that the earlier that we start acting in a species invasion, the more successful we are and the cheaper it is overall and it works better,” said Kolar. “A lot of efforts being put towards Asian carp came kind of late in the invasion.”

The USGS is not only researching the life cycle of Asian carp, but developing the best methods to control the invasive fish.