Utah Lake's excess carp become mink food, compost

More than 1 million pounds of unwanted carp have been pulled out of Utah Lake this winter, with most of it going to a farmer's fields and a nearby mink farm.

The fish are being removed as part of a multimillion dollar effort to save the June sucker, an endangered fish that only lives in Utah Lake and its tributaries.

When carp feed on the lake bottom, they tear up vegetation that provides important places for young June suckers to hide from predators.

A commercial fishing business began removing carp in the fall as part of a $500,000 contract to remove 2.5 million pounds of the fish from Utah Lake, the state's largest natural freshwater lake.

Some of the carp — which are packed with nutrients — will also soon go to a Utah County composting operation.

"We'd love to have it," said Richard Henry, district manager of the South Utah Valley Solid Waste District, which mixes compost at a facility near Elberta and sells it for $25 a cubic yard.

There may soon be a steady supply.

Wildlife officials say around 5 million pounds of carp will have to come out of lake each year in order to give the June sucker the room it needs.

The state-funded contract with a commercial fishing business has resulted in the removal of about 1.2 million pounds so far this winter, according to Michael Mills, local coordinator for the June sucker recovery program.

Fishing tends to be better in colder months because carp tend to congregate in cooler temperatures and are easier to target with nets. On an average day, about 23,000 pounds of carp were netted.

"I've been impressed, surprised and encouraged at the same time," said Reed Price, head of the Utah Lake Commission, which recently approved a draft plan for improving the lake.

About $40 million has been spent trying to save the June sucker, which was listed as an endangered species in 1986.

But the lake's huge population of carp — introduced in the late 1800s as a food source for people — is now seen as the biggest impediment to protecting the sucker.

And even if the carp can be pulled from the lake, the biggest question has long been: What do you do with a bottom-feeding fish that hardly anyone wants?

Organizers had initially hoped to find buyers for the carp that would cover the costs of removal. Several ideas were floated, including shipping them to overseas markets, but they never penciled out.

Instead, the carp are now going into the soil of a farmer's field and providing food for a mink farm in Utah County, Mills said. The South Valley compost would provide another option, but the district would be getting the dead fish for free.

"I'd still love to see somebody pay for it," Mills said.

But this winter's fishing has shown that a steady supply of carp can be removed from the lake and be made available to buyers, he said.

Research continues for possible uses for the carp, including grinding them up into fish meal for the state's hatcheries.

More fishing is expected this spring. Organizers are looking for other sources funding.