Fears of Asain Carp are Becoming More of a Reality

UPDATE: June 30, 2017

The fear that asian carp have passed the electric barrier and are just miles away from Lake Michigan was made real last week as the IDNR announced that a Silver Carp passed the electric barrier.

This finding made the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee’s implement their Contingency Response Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources have contracted commercial fishers who are monitoring the waterways.

Since last week "An intensive monitoring operation in the Chicago Area Waterway System is currently underway". No Silver or Bighead Carps Found as Sampling Continues.  Please read the press release from AsianCarp.us

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Magna Carpa deployed to Calumet Harbor on June 27, 2017. Photo courtesy of IL DNR.

CHICAGO, IL – No silver or bighead Asian carp have been seen or caught since the capture of an adult male silver carp 9 miles from Lake Michigan on June 22 by contracted commercial fisher below the T.J. O’Brien Lock and Dam. The silver carp capture triggered the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee’s Contingency Response Plan (PDF). An intensive monitoring operation in the Chicago Area Waterway System is currently underway this week.

As part of the coordinated contingency response, crews from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and contracted commercial fishers are conducting a monitoring operation that is expected to last two weeks. The U.S. Coast Guard has provided notice to mariners of increased activity in the areas above and below the T.J. O’Brien Lock and Dam.

Four electrofishing crews, three contracted commercial fishers, and a specially outfitted netting boat have been deployed daily below the T.J. O’Brien Lock and Dam, in Lake Calumet, and in an area from the T.J. O’Brien Lock and Dam to Calumet Harbor. The operation, which covers a 13-mile section of the waterway with intensive monitoring, is scheduled to continue through July 7. Work continues weekdays, including the Fourth of July. Mariners should watch for the presence of nets that are marked with floats. For more information on the coordinated contingency response, please refer to the Incident Action Plan: Operation Silver Bullet (PDF).

The silver carp captured June 22 has been sent to Southern Illinois University for analysis to determine the fish’s age and origin. More information will be shared as it becomes available.

Original Post: 

The fear that anglers, conservationist and outdoor enthusiast in general have been talking about is looking more like a reality each passing year.  On June 23, 2017 the IDNR and the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee announced the finding of a silver carp passed the electric barriers and 9 miles from Lake Michigan.   For those of us who are in the outdoor world we know this isn't good.   Back in January the IDNR released it's 2017 Action Plan to Manage Asian Carp.  If you're concerned about the spread of Asian Carp in Illinois then this is a must read.

Below, you'll see the press release from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources with the details regarding the finding the silver carp.

Silver Carp Found Nine Miles from Lake Michigan

Fish Sent to Southern Illinois University for Analysis

CHICAGO, IL – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) today announced the preliminary finding of one silver carp in the Illinois Waterway below T.J. O’Brien Lock and Dam, approximately nine miles away from Lake Michigan. The fish was captured with a gill net by a contracted commercial fisher the morning of June 22 as part of the ACRCC Monitoring Response Work Group’s seasonal intensive monitoring event. The silver carp was 28 inches in length and weighed approximately 8 pounds. The fish has been sent to Southern Illinois University for additional analysis.



The silver carp find triggers two additional weeks of intense sampling in the area, as outlined in the ACRCC’s Contingency Response Plan. It is important to note that this preliminary finding does not confirm that a reproducing population of Asian carp currently exists above the electric dispersal barriers or within the Great Lakes. In eight consecutive years of intensive monitoring and fish sampling in the Chicago Area Waterway System, this is the second time a bighead or silver carp has been found above the electric dispersal barriers. A bighead carp was found in Lake Calumet in 2010.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee are committed to keeping you informed as we learn more about the captured silver carp and continue our sampling efforts in the Illinois Waterway.

The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee is a consortium of provincial, federal, state and local partners united in their efforts to prevent the spread and establishment of Asian carp in the Great Lakes. For more information, please visit www.AsianCarp.us.