Photo courtesy of LDWF
Grass carp control water vegetation, but this one unusually big: LDWF Biologists
By JOSH MITCHELL/RMT NEWs
LAKE CONCORDIA, La. — Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists were reportedly “shocked” to find a grass carp weighing 92 pounds during “standard spring electrofishing sampling” just over two weeks ago.
The nerly 50-inch fish was found on Lake Concordia on March 11.
It rivals similar fish caught in Bulgaria and in Alabama, according to a LDWF news release.
These fish are native to Asia and have been used since the 1960s to control aquatic vegetation, Louisiana wildlife officials say.
“This is the first time we’ve ever observed a Grass Carp in Lake Concordia during our sampling,” said Shelby Richard, Inland Fisheries District 3 Biologist Manager, in a news release this week.
The La Crosse Fish Health Center in Onalaska, Wisc., part of United States Fish & Wildlife Service, were sent samples. The goal is to see if this 92-pounder was a diploid or triploid carp.
A diploid carp is capable of reproducing, but this does not necessarily help Lake Concordia, the release notes.
