Silver Carp Caught in Mississippi River Pool 10
Posted: 06/19/2012

The first silver carp reported from Pool 10 of the Mississippi River was caught by a commercial fisherman who discovered the invader in his gillnet while fishing near Clayton, on June 14.
 
The identity of the 11-pound fish was confirmed by fisheries biologists with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Silver carp, along with bighead carp, are native to Asia. They were introduced into southern U.S. fish farms in the 1970s to help control algae. They subsequently escaped into the Mississippi River Basin during floods and have developed self-sustaining populations in rivers throughout the basin.

Both species have been found in the Iowa portion of the Mississippi River since 2003, although only individual fish have been collected in the upper pools. 

Silver carp have previously been reported in the Missouri, Big Sioux, Little Sioux, Chariton, and Des Moines rivers and East Okoboji, Spirit, Elk, Lost Island, and Snyder Bend lakes in Iowa.

While both carp species compete with native fishes for food and space, silver carp are more of a concern for boaters because of their tendency to jump out of the water when disturbed by boating activities.