Invasive carp movement rates among five herding techniques using adaptive resolution imaging sonar on the Lower Perche Creek, Columbia, MO

Data represent a comparison of herding techniques commonly used by natural resource agencies and the public to increase removal or harvest of invasive carp (i.e., Silver Carp) from U.S. waterways. Sites on lower Perche Creek, Columbia, MO (2018 August 9th to 2018 October 26th) were contained using block nets and treated with one of five herding techniques: (1) method commonly used by commercial fishers in the U.S. (“commercial technique”), (2) pulsed-DC electrofishing (“electric technique”), (3) broadband sound administered with underwater speakers (“sound technique”), (4) both sound and electric in combination (“combination technique”), and (5) solely the boat with no added stimulus (“control”). Sites were administered with repeated 20 min runs (x3) in a slow bank to bank pattern downstream through a 4.5 m opening along the shoreline. Herding effectiveness was quantified by run category (cumulative for second and third runs) using ARIS (Adaptive Resolution Imaging Sonar; Sound Metrics, Bellevue, WA). Fish composition of the study reach was sampled using a suite of community sampling gears downstream of a herding treatment on 2018 November 7th. Prior to the study, a playback sound recording was created for the sound technique and combination technique. In addition, sound pressure level (decible re 1 μPa) emitted from each technique were measured on Perche Creek.