Anglers are being asked to monitor their live bait purchases this holiday weekend and also to look for juvenile Asian carp during the entirety of the fishing season.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says juvenile Asian carp pose just as much of a threat to the Great Lakes and the state’s waters as adult Asian carp.
Officials say because bait often is transported across state lines, including from areas with breeding populations of Asian carp, it would be possible for juvenile Asian carp to make their way into the bait supply without anyone realizing it.
Juvenile Asian carp can be confused with common baitfish – such as gizzard shad, emerald shiner, spottail shiner or golden shiner.
The DNR has a video to help identify them on its Asian carp website at www.michigan.gov/asiancarp.