Lake Mattamuskeet Carp Removal

Common Carp | credit: U.S. Army

A $1 million federal grant will go towards the removal of large numbers of common carp from Lake Mattamuskeet in North Carolina.

Located within Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, the lake is also home to more popular freshwater fish including largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, sunfish, and striped bass.

Invasive carp, like those in Lake Mattamuskeet, compete with native fish for the natural resources and destroy the natural aquatic habitat.

Carp can degrade water quality by muddying the waters and uprooting aquatic plants. Their destruction also negatively impacts migratory wintering waterfowl that feed on the plants.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has partnered with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) to remove the carp.

Several years ago, barriers were installed at the lake's four tide gates to keep adult carp from entering the lake. Now, the ones still in the lake must go.

The Service awarded WSB the contract to clear approximately 1 million pounds of carp from Lake Mattamuskeet.

During a similar large-scale carp removal effort in the 1940s and 1950s, large haul seines, baited traps, and pound nets were used successfully.

Another approach, known as the modified unified method, utilizes large seines and herding methods to move carp into nets successfully. Once netted, carp are extracted from the lake. WSB will utilize a combination of these removal methods. 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law investment will improve the natural environment of the 40,000-acre Lake Mattamuskeet and four outlet canals, according to USFWS.

source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service