Officials have devised a shocking solution to address a carp invasion in Missouri's Creve Coeur Lake.
St. Louis television station KSDK reported that the bodies of around 70 invasive carp washed up on the shores of the lake in late August, creating a smelly situation for the Maryland Heights residents who want to enjoy the popular recreation area.
"There is something seriously wrong at Creve Coeur Lake," one person told the NBC affiliate.
According to the report, the statement was accurate, but the commenter may have been unaware of just what was taking place. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey had been using "electrofishing" to capture the carp for data gathering on the scope of the problem of their infestation in the lake.
Invasive species in North America cause billions of dollars in damages annually, while the global economic toll over the past 50 years is an estimated $1.23 trillion, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In Creve Coeur Lake, the carp have outcompeted native fish for resources and have proved to be a hazard for boaters, resulting in serious injuries for some passengers, per KSDK.
Electrofishing uses an electric current to stun fish to the surface of the waters, and the process has been used in other states.
As KSDK noted, electrofishing is illegal unless approved for research purposes. While the fish didn't die from the electrical shocks themselves, a combination of stress from the electric currents and heat reportedly led to their deaths — hence the "rancid" situation.
Other types of invasive species control (sans electrical shocks) exist. For example, the federal government has invested $1 billion to develop a barrier to prevent invasive carp from overtaking the Great Lakes. Meanwhile, a project to reintroduce native plants has the Utah Lake area on the road to recovery.
Ultimately, whether invasive species are of the animal or plant variety, they are known for creating enormous headaches for governments and individuals alike.
On the other hand, native species support local wildlife and pollinators. If homeowners incorporate native plants into their landscaping designs, they will even reduce the effort and money needed to maintain their yards while doing good for the planet.
As for Creve Coeur Lake, MDC Fisheries biologist John Schulte told KSDK that no other species perished during the electrofishing, and the team hopes to resolve the carp issue.
"Recent fish kills consisting exclusively of invasive carp … led to us reaching back out to our partners and basically restarting a new phase of carp control efforts by estimating what the carp population at Creve Coeur is," he said. "This is all geared toward figuring out how many [carp] are in the lake and generally how big they are with an eye toward a future removal effort."
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