The Minnesota DNR is now tagging and tracking the habits of invasive carp for the first time, thanks to legislation passed this spring.

On the St. Croix River last Friday, DNR officials say they captured their first invasive carp since legislation went into effect allowing them to tag bighead carp with a tracking device.

Officials say they’ve successfully monitored the carp’s location on four different occasions over the past week.

They’re hoping the data they retrieve on the carp’s habits will help lead to the capture of more of the invasive species.

“This will allow us to see what they were going to do, where they're going, what their movement patterns are, and hopefully make our capture more efficient and find other spots that we can target too,” said Nick Frohnauer, invasive fish coordinator for the MN DNR.

The DNR is permitted to track up to two invasive carp in the St. Croix or Mississippi River at any given time. Officials say the carp they're tracking now will eventually be removed from the water and euthanized.