Silver Carp Found Nine Miles from Lake Michigan
June 23, 2017
Contact:
Katie Steiger-Meister, Katie_Steiger-Meister@fws.gov, (612) 723-4839
Tim Schweizer, Tim.Schweizer@illinois.gov, (217) 785-4344
CHICAGO, IL – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) today announced the preliminary finding of 1 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.
Silver carp captured in the Illinois Waterway on June 22, 2017 below T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam. Image courtesy of Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
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.