Kansas officials reveal what happened to more than 100,000 pounds of invasive carp removed from a single river

need to know

• Kansas officials say invasive carp removed from the Kansas River are used to recycle nutrients

• More than 109,000 pounds of carp have been removed from the river since 2022, including a record 36,000 pounds in 2025.

• The effort is part of a broader regional push to remove more than 20 million pounds of invasive carp annually.

Kansas wildlife officials are shedding new light on what happens after invasive carp are pulled from the Kansas River — a question that has removed more than 100,000 pounds of fish from the waterway in the past four years.

In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) revealed that invasive Asian carp removed during ongoing management efforts are returned to the river system as part of a “nutrient recycling process.” An agency spokesman said the fish are returned to the river to decompose naturally, allowing nutrients stored in their bodies to re-enter the ecosystem.

“This allows the fish to decompose naturally and ensures that the nutrients stored in the fish’s body are returned to the river ecosystem,” explained a KDWP spokesperson, describing the practice as an “environmentally sound” way to close the loop after mass removal.

Explanation: After years of removing carp along the Kansas River. As PEOPLE previously reported, KDWP biologists have removed nearly 109,000 pounds of invasive carp since the coordinated efforts began in 2022. The campaign reached a high point in 2025, when officials pulled 36,863 pounds from the river — the most successful year on record.

The removals target three invasive species present in Kansas waters: silver, bighead and black carp. Imported from Asia for improved aquaculture in the 1970s, the fish escaped into Midwestern waterways decades ago and spread rapidly. They grow quickly, consume large amounts of plankton and compete directly with native fish for food.

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“These removal efforts appear to have produced positive effects in Kansas waterways and on native species,” said Liam Odell, an invasive carp biologist with the KDWP, who said biologists have seen population declines in areas focused on removal along with signs of native species returning.

The Kansas work is part of a much larger, multi-state effort. According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, invasive carp management programs in the Mississippi River basin now remove more than 20 million pounds of invasive carp from US waters each year.

The agency announced nearly $19 million in funding through August 2025 to support carp removal, monitoring and prevention efforts in 18 states, including Kansas.

In Kansas, biologists use a mix of electrofishing, gill nets and special gear, including a specially designed electrified dozer trawl to remove carp. In 2025, the effort expanded 15 miles downstream, while Bowersock Dam in Lawrence, Kan., continues to prevent fish from spreading upstream.

KDWP officials say removals will continue throughout the year and may expand as research and funding permit, stressing that controlling invasive carp is critical to protecting inland ecosystems — even after the fish leave the nets.

Read the original article on People