Fisheries dependent and independent data inform a capture technique for an emerging invasive fish species in the mainstem Mississippi River; Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus

Fisheries Research
By: , and 

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Abstract

Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus were imported into the United States in the 1970s and 1980s for use in aquaculture; escape occurred and reported wild captures increased. Lacking species-specific capture methods, we assessed fisheries dependent incidental Black Carp catches for a common method, hoop nets, by kernel density analysis to identify an area of increased reporting and compare frequency of reports for water temperature, river stage, and capture date to identify seasonality. We then used fisheries independent effort to identify co-occurrence of species via non-metric multi-dimensional scaling and fit Black Carp catch and environmental covariates by generalized linear models to assess site-specific environmental covariates facilitating capture. The best approximating distribution was refitted for predictions and inference. The greatest density of fisheries dependent hoop net captures (39 %) was near the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, primarily from July-September. Captures were characterized by median water temperature 26.7°C, river stage 5.02 m, and 223 day-of-year (DOY; mid-August). Ordination of fisheries independent catch identified similarity in environmental covariates of Smallmouth Buffalo Ictiobus bubalus and Black Carp. The probability of capturing ≥ 1 Black Carp increased with DOY, decreased with increasing current velocity, and increased with depth. Most captures occurred in outside bends (87 %) or side channels (12 %). Probability of Black Carp capture was low but increased in summer and early fall when stage is lower, facilitating reduced current velocity and access to deeper areas. Results may be validated beyond this river segment to test if site-specific hydrology or habitat characteristics facilitated increased commercial and biologist capture and for replication.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Fisheries dependent and independent data inform a capture technique for an emerging invasive fish species in the mainstem Mississippi River; Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus
Series title Fisheries Research
DOI 10.1016/j.fishres.2025.107368
Volume 285
Publication Date April 23, 2025
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Columbia Environmental Research Center
Description 107368, 12 p.
Country United States
State Illinois, Missouri
Other Geospatial MIssissippi River
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