Paupier: A Modified Skimmer Trawl Developed to Target Asian Carp in Midwestern Waters

The electrified butterfly skimmer (AKA Paupier) is a novel gear targeting Asian carp of all sizes.  The Paupier has been deployed throughout the Midwest in backwaters, tributaries, reservoirs and large rivers as a tool for: early detection of young-of-year (YOY), large scale removal of adults and trend population monitoring.  During 2015, the Paupier was compared to a push trawl, mini-fyke net, surface trawl and electrofishing as a sampling method for Asian carp in the upper Illinois River.  The Paupier caught exponentially more silver carp of all sizes during the study compared to other gears.  In areas with high-densities of Asian carp, the Paupier has the capability to remove 550 adults in four minutes of electrofishing.  Compared to commercial gill netting, the Paupier captures all sizes instead of targeting a specific size class. Paired comparisons targeting YOY carp using electrified and non-electrified methods show electricity greatly increases the likelihood of catching invasive carp greater than 125mm.  The Paupier shows additional value as a monitoring tool for pelagic fishes such as paddlefish, shad and hybrid striped bass.   The boat itself has been configured for multiple applications including mechanical surface trawl retrieval and conversion to standard electrofishing.