VIDEO: New Michigan DNR video provides tips for identifying juvenile Asian carp

Author's note: I firmly believe Asian Carp is a menace to the Great Lakes that needs to be eliminated as a threat. The closest comparison I can think of is the Emerald Ash Borer, but from everything I've read the Asian Carp will all but render our waterways lifeless of other species of fish. We need to do everything we can to prevent this. If this video can help, then so be it. That's why I'm sharing it with you.



The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently developed a video to assist anglers and the public in identifying juvenile Asian carp. The video was produced in collaboration with Michigan Out of Doors Television.

The DNR is doing many things to prevent adult Asian carp (bighead and silver) from entering the Great Lakes, but many people don’t realize that juvenile Asian carp pose a threat to the state’s waters as well. Juvenile Asian carp can be confused with common baitfish – such as gizzard shad, emerald shiner, spottail shiner or golden shiner. Because bait is often transported across state lines, including from areas with breeding populations of Asian carp, it would be easy for juvenile Asian carp to make their way into the bait supply without anyone realizing it.

This new video showcases five characteristics viewers can use to distinguish between juvenile Asian carp (bighead and silver) and common baitfish. These characteristics include color, scales, eyes, mouths and keels.

The video can be viewed on the DNR’s Asian carp website at www.michigan.gov/asiancarp and the national Asian carp website at www.asiancarp.us.

"We hope anglers and concerned members of the public will watch this video to learn how to identify juvenile Asian carp,” said DNR Fisheries Division Chief Jim Dexter. “Public awareness is a critical component of our efforts to prevent these invasive fish from impacting our world-class fisheries.”

The video also describes what anglers can do if they think they have a juvenile Asian carp in their bait bucket, or any odd fish for that matter. Anglers are encouraged to discard the fish in the trash or to contact the DNR to correctly identify the fish in question.

This video is one of several items the DNR has developed to educate the public about Asian carp. For more information on this issue, please visit www.michigan.gov/asiancarp.