One Fish, Two Fish: FWC Seeks Freshwater Carp in Bay, Finds Few

By Jeremy Morrison, The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.

Mar. 21–SOUTHPORT — Trolling the spillway beneath Deer Point Lake Dam on Thursday, fish and wildlife agents zapped the water in search of grass carp that might have slipped into North Bay after heavy February rains.

Using an apparatus that looked like a cross between a metal detector and a jellyfish, they electrified the water to temporarily stun the fish, which makes it easier to count them. The freshwater fish, however, were scarce.

“They’re nervous fish,” said Fred Cross, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “They can hear that boat coming and feel that electricity.”

The electrofishing method the FWC uses is not an exact science. At the end of the day, it’s a judgment call.

“It’s subjective. There’s no formula,” Cross said. “There’s no way to say 500 got through or 1,000 got through” the dam’s gates.

In early February, the wildlife commission stocked Deer Point Lake with 10,000 triploid grass carp. The fish were expected to eat away some of the lake’s aquatic weed growth. An aquafarm company from Arkansas trucked the foot-long fish down for $35,000.

Cross said the FWC would restock the lake if it was determined enough of the fish spilled into the North Bay. That won’t be necessary if Thursday’s search along the dam is any indication.

The electrofishing didn’t produce any stunned carp near the spillway. That’s lucky for the carp; the process probably would have killed 25 percent of the fish zapped.

“They’re an old fish,” Cross said, contrasting the prehistoric carp body with that of more modern sportfish. “Electricity going through the body tends to give them muscle spasms.”

The muscle spasms have a tendency to result in damaged backbones and internal bleeding, eventually leading to death.

The FWC is writing off the carp that slipped into North Bay. To recover them would not be costeffective, Cross said. The fish soon will succumb to the salt water.

Some larger carp, planted in the lake years ago, were seen near the dam Thursday. Though impressive in size, these are not the carp Cross is looking for.

“We’re not so concerned about those,” he said. “They’re just about done eating; they’re at the end of their life span.”

Cross is searching for the little ones, the fish stocked in February. Later in the afternoon, the FWC electro-crew found more aging carp in Mill Bayou, but none of the young ones.

“The bottom line is we didn’t see enough fish to raise any concern,” Cross said. “It’s not worth calling Arkansas and getting another truck loaded with fish down here.”

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