AUTHORS: Authors: Josh Abner Affiliation: Missouri Department of Conservation
ABSTRACT: Abstract: Invasive bigheaded carp (Silver Carp and Bighead Carp) have been around for decades, with populations continually growing and expansion continuing to take place. Funding, as well as consequent research and removal efforts have vastly increased among recent years. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has taken advantage of this to not only learn more about these fish and their impacts but to also focus on removal efforts and strategies. Invasive bigheaded carp have been implanted with acoustic transmitters across the state of Missouri within the Upper Mississippi River, the Lower Mississippi River, and the Missouri River basins, to track movement patterns in response to removal efforts. Collaboration with other state and federal agencies allows us to further our project scope with minimal additional effort. Standardized fish community assessments are also taking place to begin collecting long term trend data to elucidate community changes to invasive carp removal. A multi-sub-basin project approach related to research and removal is the kind of broad scale collaboration that will be required to make a difference in invasive bigheaded carp control and management.
