Water samples from the St. Croix River have tested positive for genetic material from silver carp, suggesting the invasive, leaping Asian species may be present in the river as far north as the dam at St. Croix Falls, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
 
Known as environmental DNA (eDNA) testing, the results do not provide any information on number of fish present, their size or whether they are breeding.
 
To date, no silver carp have been caught in the St. Croix River, either by anglers or commercial fishing operators. Only two bighead carp, a different Asian species, have been caught in the river – one in 1996 and another on April 18 of this year.
 
The discovery has prompted the DNR to take several actions.
 
“Our immediate goal is to mobilize as much effort as possible to confirm the presence of live silver carp in the St. Croix,” DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr. “The results raise the profile and the level of urgency around the Asian carp issue not just for the DNR, but for all agencies, conservation groups, municipalities and river users who have a stake in the health of the St. Croix and the Mississippi.”
 
The DNR will soon contract with commercial fishing operators to begin using nets on the St. Croix to try to capture live silver carp in the same areas where eDNA tests were positive. DNR staff will also use nets and boats outfitted with electric shocking capabilities to search for fish. DNR operations could start next week; commercial netting operations are expected to start by the end of August.
 
DNR officials said they will proceed with development of a bubble or sonic barrier at the mouth of the St. Croix River at Prescott, Wis., pending results of the additional carp sampling. Scientists believe such a barrier would not be a 100-percent deterrent to Asian carp, but if the populations are low, the barrier could help keep additional carp out of the river while other population control methods are developed.
 
The DNR is considering a variety of funding sources, including requesting assistance from the Minnesota Legislature, for the barrier. A recent estimate put the barrier’s construction cost (for materials alone) at $7 million.
 
NO eDNA POSITIVES ON MISSISSIPPI
RIVER; MORE TESTING TO BE DONE
 

eDNA testing is a new but scientifically accepted method of screening water samples for genetic material originating from an aquatic animal’s mucus or excrement. On June 28, a private contractor collected 50 samples from a 4.3-mile stretch of the St. Croix River. The sample area started at the St. Croix Falls Dam and went downstream to near the town of Franconia. The sample area was roughly 48 to 52 miles upstream of the river’s confluence with the Mississippi River at Prescott, Wis.
 
On June 29, the same contractor, Environmental DNA Solutions from Granger, Ind., took 50 samples from the Mississippi River in St. Paul. The samples were collected in a river stretch starting at Lock and Dam 1 (Ford Dam) and ending 3.6 miles downstream at Pike Island. The DNR received the test results on Aug. 4.
 
All 100 samples from the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers were tested for three species of Asian carp: black, bighead and silver. The three species could cause serious damage to Minnesota’s native fish and aquatic systems by filter-feeding vast amounts of plankton, a key foundation of a river’s ecosystem and food chain.
 
All 100 samples tested negative for bighead and black carp. All the samples tested negative for silver carp in the Mississippi River. Scientists cautioned that the negative results on the Mississippi River do not mean silver carp are not in the river. They said the Mississippi was at flood stage during the testing process, which could have limited the accumulation of carp DNA.
 
DNR staff note that bighead and silver carp have been caught in the Mississippi downstream of Lake Pepin.
 
In contrast, the positive samples from the St. Croix River were more conclusive. Twenty-two of 50 samples (44 percent) tested positive for silver carp along the 4.3-mile stretch of river.
 
TASK FORCE TACKLES CARP ISSUE
 
A Twin Cities-based Asian Carp Task Force brought together in January by National Park Service officials with the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, will immediately begin planning for a new round of eDNA testing in both rivers.
 
Made up of federal, state and local partners, the task force was responsible for initiating the most recent round of eDNA testing, which cost about $17,000. Two nonprofit organizations funded the testing. The St. Paul-based Mississippi River Fund contributed $10,000 and St. Croix National Scenic Riverway Fund of the St. Croix Valley Foundation contributed $7,200. The St. Croix Valley Foundation is based in Hudson, Wis.
 
The St. Croix Falls Dam and Lock and Dam 1 on the Mississippi River were chosen as sites for the initial round of eDNA testing because they are river barriers where Asian carp might accumulate, and they are located further upstream than where most commercial fishing and routinely conducted DNR surveys take place. The next round of testing will occur above those dams and elsewhere in the two rivers. Scientists want to test for Asian carp above Lock and Dam 1 in St. Paul and above St. Anthony Falls in Minneapolis.
 
“Our task is to stop or slow down these fish as far south as possible while we continue to develop technologies and techniques to slow down their spread,” said Paul Labovitz, superintendent of the Mississippi National River & Recreation Area.
 
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton recently signed a bonding bill, approved by the Minnesota Legislature, funding a $16 million upgrade of the Coon Rapids Dam on the Mississippi River. The dam improvements are designed to provide a permanent barrier to the upstream migration of Asian carp to the upper reaches of the Mississippi River. Construction should begin 2012.
 
DNR GETS HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE
 IN EFFORT TO CAPTURE SILVER CARP
 
DNR fisheries experts say silver carp are extremely skittish and difficult to catch with traditional netting and fish-shocking equipment.
 
However, two DNR fisheries biologists recently returned from the Illinois River, where they received first-hand training from commercial fishing operators in capturing Asian carp, which have established significant populations there. The training will prove valuable as the DNR begins its own search for the species on the St. Croix.

What I don't understand is that they didn't find any trace in the Mississippi but found them in the St. Croix. Now I'm not a rocket scientist or a biologist, but I can tell you there is only one way they got in the St. Croix and that's through the Mississippi! 

I agree with Sparce, you treat it to prevent weather you find traces or not.

to bad one couldnt " trap shoot" these things! seen vidoes from further south them shootin them with bows. that would be a trip. but still dont want them here.

i take it these things arent partial to the cold water we get here in the winter months??