Mn DNR
Minnesota DNR

New Record Bighead Carp Might Mean Trouble for Minnesota

With the news of a new record bighead carp in Minnesota, state officials are getting worried. 

So far, Minnesota has been largely free of invasive carp. However, that seems to have just recently changed. Local news is reporting a record bighead carp was just caught out of a gravel pit near the Minnesota river. No breeding populations of invasive carp exist in the state. However, with bighead carp this big, it might be a problem.

The reason why this one carp is causing such a stir is that the gravel pit from where it was shot by a bow fisherman is inside the Minnesota river floodplain. In other words, that means the only way that carp could have got inside that gravel pit is by getting stranded in there during a flood.

Logically, more bighead carp should be prevalent. However, through cooperation with the landowner, studies will take place to determine if this is an isolated fish.

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Weighing in at just over 61 pounds and 47.5 inches long, this is no small bighead carp. Unfortunately, it appears that this fish has been thriving. According to the report, this isn't the first time a bighead carp has been found in the state. To date, there has been reports in the Mississippi near the Twin Cities, the St. Croix River and elsewhere in the Minnesota River. 

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