Multiple wildlife agencies are working together to stop the spread of an invasive carp.
The grass carp has made its way into a total of 45 states, including Michigan. Officials say they’ve been spotted in Lake Erie and numerous small wetlands and bodies of water in the state.
Doctor Scott Colborne is with Michigan State University’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. He says the fish doesn’t just pose a threat because of its massive size.
“Grass carp in particular focus on nearshore areas, and so they can eat a large amount of vegetation in the rivers and tributaries around the Great Lakes and then also just around to the nearshore areas where there are wetlands, for example,” Colborne said. “And these areas are very important to native species because they’re often the nursery grounds where small fish spend the first part of their life.”
The DNR has a webpage to report grass carp and other invasive species sightings.
