It is the second year carp here have been counted, said Reed Harris of the June Sucker Recovery Program. A similar study last year put the number at 7.5 million, but more information was needed.

''We're trying to develop a model of how many we might have to take out each year in order to get rid of carp in Utah Lake,'' he said.

The eradication program could begin as early as next year.

A fishing company has been harvesting carp in the lake for decades to sell to pet food manufacturers and others, but the carp numbers continue to increase.

Until carp are removed, the June sucker, one of the world's most endangered fish and native only to Utah Lake, is unlikely to make a recovery, Harris said.

If all of the fish in Utah Lake were weighed together, 90 percent of that weight would be carp, Harris said.

If the study shows carp are too numerous to be removed by netting them over several years, experts could try diking and draining portions of the lake or even poisoning the fish, but those would be last resorts, he said.