Registration of Carbon Dioxide–Carp

Registration of new fishery chemicals is critical for resource managers to incorporate chemical controls as part of their Integrated Pest Management plans. In 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) obtained a Section 3 registration from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for carbon dioxide (CO2) as a new pesticide under the name Carbon Dioxide–Carp. Certain state and federal natural resource agencies, or persons under their direct supervision, are approved applicators for Carbon Dioxide–Carp. This registration label allows approved applicators to administer Carbon Dioxide – Carp to deter invasive carps (silver, bighead, black, grass) or as an under ice lethal control for any aquatic nuisance species. The USGS and USFWS are currently working to establish a web-based system for end users to obtain access to the Carbon Dioxide–Carp label (required for legal application in the U.S.) and to report use (required by EPA). The overall goal is to simplify access to effective fishery control chemicals and reduce the regulatory hurdles that have historically limited the use of chemicals to control unwanted species in the United States.