Traces of silver carp, an invasive species, found in Presque Isle Bay. What's the next step?

David Bruce, Erie Times-News
·4 min read

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services personnel will return to Presque Isle Bay in September to determine if silver carp, an invasive fish species, is living in its waters.

In May, they found silver carp environmental DNA — or DNA shed by an animal into its surroundings — in water samples collected from the bay. Subsequent fish sampling efforts by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission did not find any of the invasive species.

"Environmental DNA can be left by various ways. It doesn't necessarily mean silver carp are living in the bay," said David Nihart, chief of the commission's division of fisheries management. "It could have come from carp used as bait, bird droppings or water transported from a boat."

Silver carp is one of four types of fish previously called Asian carp. They are considered a threat to the Great Lakes' ecosystem and the $7 billion fishing industry because they reproduce quickly, grow up to 100 pounds in size and would compete for food with native fish.

They were imported into the United States in the 1970s as a way to control algal blooms in wastewater treatment plants and aquaculture pounds, and as a food source, according to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. But some carp escaped into the wild and have migrated north along the Mississippi River.

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They can now be found just 47 miles from Lake Michigan. A last-ditch effort to keep the carp out of the Great Lakes includes spending more than $800 million on a barrier at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River about 27 miles southwest of Chicago, USA Today reported.

The barrier will include electricity, unappealing sounds for fish and gates of bubbles as deterrents.

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"It's important to keep these fish out of Presque Isle Bay and all of the Great Lakes because it's a very delicate balance here," said Jerry Skrypzak, president of Save Our Native Species of Lake Erie fishing club. "There is only so much food out there."

The Fish and Wildlife Service found silver carp environmental DNA in one of 100 water samples it took from the bay May 5 as part of routine testing for invasive species.

On May 18, the commission was conducting unrelated electrofishing sampling in the bay in which they use a mild electrical current to stun fish in a particular section of water. The fish are temporarily immobilized and float to the surface, where they can be easily identified.

"Though they were not looking for silver carp at that point, they did not find any," Nihart said. "On July 14, we conducted electrofishing sampling in the area of the bay where the eDNA was found. We also didn't find any silver carp at that time."

The next step comes in September when Fish and Wildlife Services returns for additional water sampling.

In addition, the commission wants people who fish and others who enjoy the bay to watch for any kind of invasive carp.

How to spot silver carp

  • Scaleless head with large upturned mouth, no barbels

  • Eyes forward, sit below the mouth, and project downward

  • Scaleless keel extends all the way from anal fin to base of gills

  • Very tiny scales (troutlike), 91–124 in lateral line

  • Gill rakers appear spongy

  • Body is olive green dorsally; silver but sometimes bronze to red sides

Tips for boaters

  • When retrieving your boat for the day, check the boat, motor and trailer for weeds and other things "tagging along."

  • Wash your boat's hull with hot water or with a high-pressure spray.

  • Drain live wells, bilges and other compartments.

  • Drain all standing water from your boat.

  • Don't dump leftover bait into the water you're fishing, unless you collected the bait there.

If you catch or spot an invasive carp in Pennsylvania waters, notify the commission by using a form found online at pfbc.pa.gov/forms/reportAIS.htm.

"If you catch an invasive carp, report it," Skrypzak said. "We don't want them overtaking the lake."

Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: eDNA from silver carp, an invasive species, found in Presque Isle Bay.