Carp Solutions

07/02/2022

Aquatic plants are on the mend and so are native fish – the first sign that carp removal is having a positive effect on lake ecosystems is the return of rooted aquatic plants. We are currently witnessing it in Lake Allegan, MI where we reduced carp biomass by 75%. Two years ago, the lake was practically void of plants, but now major shallow areas are beginning to be covered by expanding patches of vegetation. The hardiest species often recover first (including some invasives, unfortunately, like this Eurasian watermilfoil) but over time, more and more species are expected to appear. This will create better habitat for fish, invertebrates, and aquatic birds. Rooted pants also increase water clarity, reduce the severity of algal blooms and may promote storage of atmospheric carbon into lake sediments, much like maintaining plan cover facilitates carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems (regenerative agriculture).

We are already seeing a sharp increase in yellow perch abundance and size seen in the fish survey conducted by our partners from Wood in June.

06/05/2022

As of last night, we have deactivated the Electric Guidance System and finished our spring campaign in Rice Creek. 70% of the migrating carp were removed; 13,500 individuals. Overall, it was a successful effort. We took a gamble on how to change the arrangement of the conveyers and electrodes in relation to last year's setup and it paid off. The new arrangement allows for effective carp removal with a. crew of only 3 (with some minor tweaks :). I'd like to thank the entire crew for their effort!

05/13/2022

The mighty Bigmouth Buffalo! It's spring migration time and many native fish migrate along with the invasive common carp to their spawning grounds. We are seeing large numbers of Bigmouth Buffalo migrating in Rice Creek. The Bigmouth Buffalo is a really cool fish! Thanks to research conducted by Dr. Alec Lackmann from North Dakota State University we know that Bigmouth Buffalo are the longest lived freshwater fish known to science. Often reaching over 100 years of age (oldest verified g*e was 112!). While they look like common carp they are anything but. Unlike carp, the buffalo do not dig in the bottom while looking for food. Instead they feed on plankton suspended in the water. The carp are being removed via our trap, the Buffalo are hand sorted out and released upstream so they can continue their journey!

03/12/2022

2022 Season is finally here! Last week we were testing Acoustic Receivers in Lake Owasso to make them ready for a deployment in Kalamazoo River, MI. Acoustic telemetry is used to autonomously monitor fish movements over long periods of time. These systems are especially important in marine environments (where radio telemetry does not work) and are often used for tracking the movement of, for example, coral reef fishes. In this case, we will be using them to track spawning migrations of common carp. Not as exciting as coral reefs but we are not complaining...

11/21/2021

Jenna, we will be missing you! Jenna has decided to leave Carp Solutions and pursue a new career with a local company that specializes in material handling and equipment manufacture. Jenna has been with us since 2018 and quickly advanced through the ranks from a seasonal tech to a Crew Lead and then an Assistant Manager. As Carp Solutions expands to work in other state and we spend more and more time on the road, Jenna decided to work for a company where less travel is required. Coincidentally, that company produced some equipment for us in the past so hopefully our paths will cross again in the future. While we will miss you Jenna, we understand the decision. We wish you all the best and hope you will stay in touch. Thank you for all you have done for us and best of luck!

11/11/2021

Reflecting on the 2021 season. First and foremost, many thanks to all of our employees! We have been truly blessed with the very dedicated, passionate and hard-working people. We have been also evolving as a company. Increasingly, the scope of our work has been taking us beyond MN. While Minnesota is still our home base, our biggest project occurred in Lake Allegan, Michigan, and we also worked in various capacities in New York, Colorado and Oregon. We gained more media exposure, too – with the crazy goldfish story that started with the post by the City of Burnsville, was picked up by the Washington Post and then went viral globally! We also developed some new technologies and made big strides with new equipment and automation.

Here is a recapture (no pan intended – mark-recapture… get it?) of the past season, how we worked, rested and spent time together. For those who worked for us seasonally – I wish you all the best with your future careers. You are always welcome to come back. Please stay in touch. Thank you!!

10/31/2021

Had a wonderful stay at Malheur Lake with the folks from the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Malheur Lake is a unique ecosystem. Located in a flat desert depression and fed by two rivers that carry snowmelt from surrounding mountains the lake grows in size to over 100,000 acres during wet years and contracts to

10/13/2021

Our projects often take us to some pretty cool places. In this case, Southampton, Long Island, New York. We are working there with a local group to restore a historic freshwater pond 'Mill Pond'. It is always fun to go to new places and learn about local animals and plants that inhabit those systems. We were certainly surprised to see a blue crab in one of our carp nets but apparently they can do just fine if fresh water.

Carpin' in the morning, surf fishing by the evening on one of the gorgeous Long Island beaches.

09/22/2021

Our new crew member Telehandler "Mary" - helping us offload carp 1,000 lbs at a time. Getting carp on the boat using cranes "almost" hands free. Lake Allegan, Michigan.

09/16/2021

It is not only us who go after the carp that gather at the bait :). This is a recent phenomenon but apparently flathead catfish do that too. All were safely released. Lake Allegan, MIchigan.

08/25/2021

Interesting and eloquent description of our work by one of our clients 😀

Owners of loved and valuable pets sometimes have a microchip implanted to help recover them if they are lost or stolen. The same technology is now being used to help the Anoka Conservation District remove destructive carp from lakes.We recently added microchip PIT tags to 187 carp in Typo Lake (Linw...

08/24/2021

"Tripping" carp nets from a boat using a remote controller. This was a rare occasion to trip nets in the middle of the day as these fish usually feed at night. Remotely controlled nets allow a single person to trip several nets in a lake and are especially useful in locations where the nets are not easily accessible from land. Photo on the bottom shows a net in Lake Allegan set on a shallow flat mid lake.