Blocking Bighead, Silver, and Other Invasive Carp by Optimizing Lock and Dams

Invasive carp species, including silver carp and bighead carp, are migrating north up the Mississippi River and pose threats to the native fish and aquatic ecosystems of Minnesota rivers and lakes where they can become established. While individual carp have been found in Minnesota, it is not presently believed that there are established breeding populations in the state. Nevertheless, the only current impediments to the upstream travel of carp into Minnesota waterways are the various lock and dam systems located between the Iowa border and the Twin Cities and these systems do not create a constant barrier to carp passage. Researchers at the University of Minnesota, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, are using this appropriation to develop and test ways to modify and optimize the operations of the existing lock and dam systems in order to enhance their ability to deter and block carp passage without detrimentally affecting native fish or current lock and dam function. These efforts have the potential to delay or even prevent statewide invasion by invasive carp in Minnesota via the Mississippi River.