The Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association (MICRA) has proposed eight recommendations to establish a consistent national policy strategy for Grass Carp for the purpose of minimizing the risk of unintentional and illegal introductions of diploid and triploid Grass Carp in the U.S. Chief among these recommendations is that all states prohibit the production, sale, live shipment, stocking, import, and export of diploid Grass Carp, except for permitted diploid brood stock at appropriately licensed production facilities. The states of Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska allow the legal production of diploid Grass Carp by commercial producers and/or state facilities. It is legal to transport, sell, and stock diploid Grass Carp in these six states in addition to Hawaii and the eastern half of Colorado.

Confronted with this recommended regulatory change to prohibit the commercial production and use of diploid grass carp, these eight Mississippi River Basin states must consider and develop appropriate justification for changing regulatory approaches for Grass Carp after decades of authorizing, even promoting, the stocking of diploid Grass Carp. The states are in need of information documenting the establishment of self-sustaining populations and the environmental impacts of diploid Grass Carp in U.S. river systems. Further justification has been requested from states with more restrictive Grass Carp regulations to 1) demonstrate how diploid grass carp regulations affect their efforts to prevent the introduction and establishment of Grass Carp populations, and 2) confirm that the regulatory change recommended by MICRA is warranted, and would provide meaningful, positive benefits to the management efforts in neighboring states.

The goal of the proposed symposium is to provide eight states with information to develop necessary justification and pursue the recommended regulation change to establish a consistent national policy strategy to minimize the unintentional and illegal introductions of diploid Grass Carp in the U.S.