State officials say recent testing has discovered silver carp eDNA in the St. Joseph River.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says of 220 water samples collected in June 2023 from stretches of the river between Lake Michigan and Berrien Springs, only one, taken near Marina Island, showed evidence of genetic material from silver carp.
Silver carp are an invasive species that could threaten other fish species in the Great Lakes if they were to become established.
“There’s DNA in the water and in this case it’s silver carp,” said Tammy Newcomb with the Department of Natural Resources. “What it doesn’t tell us, though, is where did that DNA come from?”
Newcomb said investigators will spend time looking for silver carp in the part of the river where the sample was taken.
Though she said it’s more likely the eDNA found in the sample was transported to the river from an out-of-state boat rather than a live fish.
