(04-11-2022, 04:32 PM)gaardvark Wrote: If the program has expired, does that mean that the seining operations have been suspended, or simply that it is no longer being publicly funded? I had understood this was a business that had been operating on the lake for many years before the state funded removal efforts began in earnest. Has the removal program been so successful that continuing to net the carp is no longer commercially viable?

(04-11-2022, 08:10 PM)gaardvark Wrote: Thank you Pat, for that informative response. I don't often get as far south as Utah Lake, so I don't see any of the seining boats. Are the Loys still fishing? From  your PDF, I see this in an article by the Provo Daily Herald in 2017:


“We’ve known all along, we can’t just walk away,” Mills said. “We’re starting to see vegetation come back, and we want to keep removing for a couple more years still, but at
that point we can’t just say, ‘OK, we’re done.' “Because it would probably only take two or three years before the carp population would rebound and come back.”For maintenance of the carp population, they could keep removing them, though Mills said research is currently underway at Utah State University looking into other methods. For instance, there are certain types of fish that could be introduced to the lake that are really good at eating carp eggs. Either way, though, the shift to a maintenance strategy is several years down the road.
“This year will be telling, because when the lake comes up a lot in the year, that’s typically when the carp do really well,” Mills said. “So our monitoring this year and also next year will be really important.”

Which sort of maintenance efforts are being employed? in the 3-4 years since the completion of the now-expired removal, have there been any studies on recovery of the carp population through natural recruitment? Does your experience at the lake support the idea that the carp population has suffered a setback resulting in greater gamefish population?

(04-11-2022, 11:59 PM)kentofnsl Wrote: I was politely tolerated when during one of their meetings, I made the comment that I didn't accept the idea of them ever reaching a tipping point and that unless they continued netting, on a large scale, the carp would rebound.  I hope I am wrong, but I have a hunch that I'm not.  I also believe the only hope is to use biological approaches, such as the carp herpes virus.

(04-12-2022, 08:21 PM)Therapist Wrote: One thing about the PCB deal.  Not sure WHO!! determined that the levels were to high in Utah Lake Carp and why.  It always struck me as strange that just when the Loy's were really putting a smack down on the carp at Utah Lake, their biggest market dried up.  It is also funny that they were supplanted by carp from China ( yes they shipped em from China to the West Coast ) which had higher levels of toxic heavy metals, although the PCB level was lower !!  Never could figure that one out.  Some of the Winter pictures of the operation are classic, especially the ones showing the Bald and Golden Eagles sitting on the ice picking up carp that fell off the cart as they were being transported off the ice to shore. 

The science behind the removal was pretty established and I am surprised that they discontinued the project before they  accomplished their goal !!  Ah,  maybe the "dredging boys" have a solution !!!

(04-12-2022, 08:21 PM)Therapist Wrote: One thing about the PCB deal.  Not sure WHO!! determined that the levels were to high in Utah Lake Carp and why.  It always struck me as strange that just when the Loy's were really putting a smack down on the carp at Utah Lake, their biggest market dried up.  It is also funny that they were supplanted by carp from China ( yes they shipped em from China to the West Coast ) which had higher levels of toxic heavy metals, although the PCB level was lower !!  Never could figure that one out.  Some of the Winter pictures of the operation are classic, especially the ones showing the Bald and Golden Eagles sitting on the ice picking up carp that fell off the cart as they were being transported off the ice to shore. 

The science behind the removal was pretty established and I am surprised that they discontinued the project before they  accomplished their goal !!  Ah,  maybe the "dredging boys" have a solution !!!