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After a lifetime of bottom feeding, the invasive carp in Como Lake are in for a nasty surprise.

The Capitol Region Watershed District is scheduled to deploy four large box nets baited with corn on Wednesday, with the goal of catching and removing the common carp over the next four or five weeks. While some may find them mouth watering — carp is considered a delicacy in many parts of the world, not so much in the United States — they undermine water quality by stirring up the lake bottom while searching for food.

In other words, their foraging uproots plants, muddies the water for native fish and releases excess nutrients from the lake bottom, inadvertently feeding unwanted algae. Not to harp on the carp, but as far as lake advocates are concerned, they’re no good.

They’re also far from home. The common carp are native to Europe and Asia, but they were stocked as game fish across the Midwest in the 1880s, according to Capitol Region Watershed. They’re now classified as an invasive species by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, so releasing them into the wild is not allowed. The captured carp are destined to become fertilizer.

Capitol Region Watershed District conducted a carp survey of Como Lake in 2021 and found them plentiful — with estimates anywhere from a few hundred to “a couple thousand,” according to project manager Bob Fossum. Officials predict that in addition to baiting and removal, the bluegills that feed on carp eggs will eat away at their numbers and help improve water quality.

More information is online at capitolregionwd.org/carp-removal.Related Articles Outdoors | Bison herd gets a new home to roam in Dakota County Outdoors | Photos: Wonder, worry collide at Utah’s famed salt flats Outdoors | New renewable natural gas facility opens in Inver Grove Heights Outdoors | Poland chooses US to build its first nuclear power plant Outdoors | With a boom, Xcel Energy demolishes landmark coal-fired power plant in western Minnesota

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