The Independent

Do snitches net fishes? Scientists turn invasive carp into traitors to slow their Great Lakes push

Source: Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Wildlife officials across the Great Lakes are looking for spies to take on an almost impossible mission: stop the spread of invasive carp.

Over the last five years, agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have employed a new seek-and-destroy strategy that uses turncoat carp to lead them to the fish's hotspot hideouts.

Agency workers turn carp into double agents by capturing them, implanting transmitters and tossing them back. Floating receivers send real-time notifications when a tagged carp swims past. Carp often clump in schools in the spring and fall. Armed with the traitor carp's location, agency workers and commercial anglers can head to

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Independent

The Independent2 min readInternational Relations
Ireland Expected To Recognise Palestinian Statehood
Ireland is to move on recognising Palestinian statehood on Wednesday morning, it is understood. The three Irish Government leaders are scheduled to hold a press conference at 8am after signalling it would recognise the state of Palestine by the end o
The Independent3 min read
Resigned To A Fate Of Constant Displacement, India's River Islanders Return Home In Between Floods
Yaad Ali is dreading the rainy season’s arrival this year. The 56-year-old farmer from northeastern India’s Assam state lives with his wife and son on Sandahkhaiti island on India’s Brahmaputra River. The island, like two thousand others on the river
The Independent2 min read
Warnings Of Flooding As Heavy Rain Forecast For Much Of The Country
Heavy rain could bring flooding and travel disruption across much of the UK on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Met Office. A yellow warning for rain is in place for the north of England, the Midlands and north and mid Wales until 6am on Thur

Related Books & Audiobooks