The Wild West is returning to its roots as Texas wildlife officials recruit anglers as bounty hunters to catch invasive black carp.
According to Crossroads Today, the expanded bounty program now covers 27 states, and fishermen will receive $100 for each invasive snakehead fish caught, up to 10 fish per month. The goal is to stop this destructive species before it takes hold in Texas waters and the Red River Basin ecosystem.
No black carp have been recorded in the Red River watershed where the bounty applies, but black carp are getting dangerously close, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The invasive fish, native to East Asia, was introduced to the United States decades ago and spread to parts of the Mississippi River Basin, causing serious ecological damage.
Black carp feed almost exclusively on molluscs, eating up to 4 pounds a day, including native mussels that play a key role in filtering water and maintaining healthy river ecosystems. When they disappear, water quality is affected, impacting fisheries, drinking water treatment costs and local water recreation economies.
By encouraging early detection and elimination by bounty hunters, officials hope to avoid these consequences and save taxpayer money. Preventing invasive species from taking hold is much cheaper than trying to control them afterward, which can require years of public funding, chemical treatments and habitat restoration.
The effort also provides funding to local anglers who look to the community for solutions. Anglers who catch carp are instructed to “kill the fish humanely” and follow the “hold, calm, call” protocol, place it on ice and report it to state wildlife agencies immediately. The Fish and Wildlife Service has released an identification guide and video to help prevent carp misidentification.
One chef even tried to convince locals to eat black carp, which the U.S. Army is spending billions of dollars to eradicate from the Great Lakes.
Similar early action bounty programs have proven effective in slowing down invasive species elsewhere, such as Florida’s feral hog program, Arkansas’ invasive plant bounty program, and Massachusetts’ nutria capture program.
Last August, Oklahoma and Arkansas launched their own herring bounty programs.
Local online anglers are excited about the plan.
“Does anyone know anything about herring farming? Find a friend,” one person joked on Reddit.
Another said: “Invasive species suck, but it’s cool that I can help and my hobby might be worth it.”
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