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(Provided by IDNR)

With more than 200 fish species in Indiana waters, anglers sometimes catch fish they can't immediately identify.

A new online tool through the DNR Division of Fish & Wildlife can help. The Fish Identification Form allows the public to submit photos and information for free directly to fisheries biologists for help with identification.

The form is at www.wildlife.IN.gov. The new tool will not only serve anglers but also benefit science. Information collected from the forms will help biologists track rare species and identify locations of invasive species.

(Provided by IDNR)

Recent heavy rains that flooded northeast Indiana ditches could create problems for anglers.

DNR fisheries biologists say flooding can create better conditions for non-native common carp to move into lakes, rivers and wetlands.

Introduced in Indiana in the 1880s, common carp have spread throughout the state and caused widespread damage to water quality, fish habitat and fishing. Carp roil the muck and silt on lakebeds and riverbeds, muddy the water, uproot aquatic plants and destroy nests of other fish.

They also compete for food and space with sport fish and upset the natural food web.

"They are the No. 1 nuisance fish in Indiana," DNR biologist Jed Pearson said.

(Provided by IDNR)

Learn about state efforts to protect threatened species and better understand wild animals in the 2016 Wildlife Science Report.

The report is available online at wildlife.IN.gov/3347.htm.

(Provided by IDNR)

For the second year in a row, DNR fisheries biologists will tag and release 1,500 one-year old muskies into Lake Webster to boost the lake's sagging muskie population.

The stocking will happen this month. The fish normally would have been stocked last fall but were held over winter in a pond and fed live minnows at the Fawn River State Hatchery in the hope of increasing their chance for survival.

Studies in other states show that year-old muskies stocked in spring survive at higher rates than fingerling muskies stocked in fall, presumably because they can avoid predators more easily and have more food and cover in fall.

Muskies stocked this month will average 12.5 inches long, about 2 inches larger than a batch of 1,325 fingerlings stocked in the 774-acre Kosciusko County lake last fall.


(Provided by IDNR)

Effective July 1, Indiana will require children under age 18 to wear an approved helmet when riding any off-road vehicle (ORV) on public or private property in Indiana, including Interlake and Redbird state recreation areas.

House Enrolled Act 1200, which was signed into law by Gov. Eric J. Holcomb on April 26, means changes to the rules at the two off-road-riding properties owned and operated by the Department of Natural Resources, Redbird and Interlake. Redbird SRA is near Linton, and Interlake SRA is near Lynnville.

Both properties previously required children and adults to wear approved helmets when riding all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and dirt bikes but not when riding side-by-side ORVs equipped with roll bars or overhead protection. HEA 1200 applies to both ATVs and side-by-side ORVs. The new law will add the requirement that children in side-by-side ORVs wear approved helmets.