The state is on a mission to remove invasive fish, but what happens to all the dead fish?

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4min 17sec
A man in a ballcap makes a kissy face at a brown fish he’s holding.
Stina Seig/CPR News
Seasonal technician Cameron Brown gives a fishy kiss to a smallmouth bass, an invasive species that Colorado Parks and Wildlife wants to eradicate from the state's waterways, on Aug. 28, 2025, at the Colorado Parks & Wildlife Montrose Office in Montrose, Colo.

Chase Nicholson gets a fish on the line in the Smallmouth Bass Tournament at Ridgway State Park
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
Chase Nicholson in the Ridgway State Park Smallmouth Bass Tournament.

A smiling man in a ballcap sits typing on a laptop. A boat is in the background to his left.
Stina Seig/CPR News
Two brown fish, one smaller than the other, held in black gloved hands.

Multiple dead, greying brown fish in ziploc baggies.
Stina Seig/CPR News
Three people, two men in ballcaps and a woman, examine fish in a Home Depot paint bucket and ziploc baggies.
Stina Seig/CPR News