Feds seek public comment on carp plan

Here's one more thing to do this holiday season: Speak up on whether 5 million pounds of carp should be pulled out of Utah Lake each year.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public comment until Dec. 17 on its program to reduce carp in the lake to more manageable levels. Eliminating the carp is part of the plan to re-establish the June sucker in Utah Lake and restore the lake itself.

The plan is to have commercial fishermen harvest the fish from the lake. Using nets, the fishermen will remove 5 million pounds a year for six years, reducing the carp population to a quarter of its current size. The federal government has already given $1 million for the carp removal.

In a pilot program last year, fisherman Bill Loy demonstrated that commercial fishermen could effectively reduce the carp population. The carp were then composted into fertilizer.

The carp were introduced in Utah Lake in the late 19th century and, with few natural predators, became the dominant species in the lake. The carp ate underwater plants that the June sucker relied on for habitat, and stirred up silt, altering the lake's ecosystem.

Eradicating carp was one element in the Utah Lake Master Plan approved by the Utah Lake Commission and the state Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands earlier this year.

dmeyers@sltrib.com