Scientists pull grass carp out of the Sandusky River

SANDUSKY — Scientists looking for grass carp found them this month in both the Sandusky and Maumee rivers. The grass carp is an example of Asian carp, but is not considered as big a risk to the Lake Erie ecosystem as two other varieties of Asian carp, the bighead carp and silver carp, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.The ODNR said Ohio Division of Wildlife biologists worked with other biologists to sample the two rivers June 12-14. They collected 30 grass carp, 27 from the Sandusky River and three from the Maumee. Grass carp have been found in Lake Erie since the mid-1980s, according to the ODNR.The agency said grass carp are only in "low densities" in the lake and that there's no evidence grass carp are hurting Lake Erie's environment or the economy of Ohio's Lake Erie shore. This month's catch reinforces the belief that grass carp populations are low, the agency said. Grass carp were stocked in many private ponds and some escaped, the ODNR said. A grass carp can weigh more than 20 pounds and can grow more than 48 inches long. The sampling effort is part of an ongoing effort by scientists to better understand grass carp. Various agencies are working through the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to figure out how to control the grass carp.The June sampling effort included biologists from the ODNR Division of Wildlife, Michigan DNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Minnesota DNR, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Geological Survey, Quebec Ministry of Forest, Wildlife, and Parks, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Michigan State University, The Ohio State University and the University of Toledo.About 60 people took part in the effort, the ODNR said. Scientists sample the Sandusky River, looking for grass carp. The city of Fremont is in the background.