The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Tetra Tech are mapping the spread of invasive black carp throughout the Mississippi River Basin in a program called “Keep, Cool, Call.” Oklahoma anglers may participate in the program and earn $100 if they hook one of these fish and share the information about their catch.
Erika Sarvela, invasive carp biologist biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, said any angler can report the catch of a black carp in Oklahoma and earn a $100 bounty, as many as 10 times each month. As of now, there is no record of a black carp being caught in Oklahoma.
“Recreational anglers, including bowfishers, who happen to catch a black carp are eligible,” Sarvela said. “But they’ll need to follow the correct procedure to ensure they receive payment for their catch.”
Anyone who catches a fish that they believe is a black carp should humanely kill the fish and and keep it on ice. Transporting a live invasive carp is illegal in Oklahoma, so the fish must be killed before moving it. Make note of the location (preferably GPS coordinates), the type of fishing gear and bait used, and habitat conditions such as depth, water temperature and current conditions. Photos of the fish’s head and mouth, and total length will be required for identification purposes as well. Email all information to Sarvela at erika.sarvela@odwc.ok.gov or call her at (580) 596-8025 or (918) 683-1031. Anglers must keep the carp frozen or on ice so ODWC can arrange to pick up the fish for analysis.
“We have invasive carp profiles available on our website to help differentiate between the species of invasive carp in Oklahoma,” Sarvela said. “Although the reward is only for the black carp, we still want anglers to report details about any other invasive carp caught in the state.”
The black carp tracking program originated in Illinois and has been successful in documenting information about this elusive invasive species. Due to its success, “Keep, Cool, Call” was recently expanded to include the Arkansas, Red, and White river basins in Oklahoma, which are tributaries of the Mississippi River.
For more about aquatic nuisance species in Oklahoma, go to wildlifedepartment.com/fishing/ans.