Black Carp Bounty Program

Compared to other invasive carps in North America, less is known about the black carp because they are rarely caught. Black carp live near the riverbed and feed primarily on mussels and snails, a cause for concern given freshwater mussels are the most imperiled group of animals in North America. 

In an effort to learn more about black carp, state and federal fisheries partners offer a bounty program to more broadly engage commercial fishers in providing black carp for research. Most of what we know about black carp comes from specimens provided by commercial fishers during the last 10 years as part of this bounty program. The majority of these have been caught incidentally when commercial fishers are harvesting other species using hoop nets. Of nearly 1,000 captures under the bounty program, less than 1% have been harvested with recreational fishing gear. Black carp have been captured from the shared waters of eight states (Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee), primarily in parts of the lower Mississippi River, lower Illinois River and lower Ohio River.

A total of 27 state agencies support the bounty program that offers $100 per individual black carp, with up to 10 reimbursements per month. Although open to anyone, states are particularly interested in engaging more commercial fishers in the bounty program because commercial gear and techniques are much more effective in catching black carp. Proper fish identification is crucial because some protected species look similar to black carp. Fishers are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the identification information provided below prior to any capture effort.

Scientists and fisheries managers want to collect more information on the black carp’s age and growth and assess its distribution and abundance. Federal partners have already gained information about the species’ diet and reproduction in parts of the Mississippi River from studying the specimens collected to date. Information gathered from telemetry tracking and other field research is also contributing to our understanding of black carp habitat usage and movement patterns. 

The information on this webpage is available as a fact sheet. Find the Keep, Cool, Call: What to do if you capture a black carp information along with other helpful fact sheets on our fact sheets page.