Invasive Asian Carp Found Breeding in "Surprising" Location
The notorious fish has been found in the upper Mississippi.
The invasive Asian carp has been breeding and spreading across the U.S. for more than 20 years, "but we were surprised that they got up so far," says Cindy Kolar, a science adviser on invasive species for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
On Tuesday, USGS said its scientists found Asian carp eggs, including late-stage embryos nearly ready to hatch, in samples taken in 2013 from the upper Mississippi River in Lynxville, Wisconsin. That's 250 river miles (400 kilometers) upstream of their previously known reproductive populations.
Ecologists worry about the Asian carp because it is a large fish that can grow up to 110 pounds (50 kilograms), too big for predators to keep in check. It eats copious amounts of plankton and