Site banner of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff electrofishing

The Invasive Carp Problem

The term invasive carp refers to several species of related fish that originated from Asia. As many as ten types of carp are considered invasive around the world, but in the United States and Canada we use invasive carp to refer to four of these species – black carp, grass carp, bighead carp, and silver carp. All are fast growing and prolific feeders that out-compete native fish and leave a trail of environmental destruction in their wake.

What you need to know about Asian carp video
Royal Ontario Museum

The four types of invasive carp currently found in the United States were imported into the country for use in aquaculture ponds. Through flooding and accidental releases, black, grass, bighead and silver carps found their way into the Mississippi River system. The Mississippi River system is like a giant freshwater highway that has given invasive carp access to many of the country’s rivers and streams.

After decades of swimming northward, silver and bighead carps are now in the Illinois Waterway and within striking distance of Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes. Black carp are currently encroaching on the Illinois River, and ongoing research is revealing the growing threat of grass carp to Lake Erie. With a valuable Great Lakes economy tied to fishing, boating and hunting in peril, the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee partners continue to stand united in their efforts stop the spread of these fish.

You too have a role to play in the fight against invasive carp! Click on the images of invasive carp to learn more.

Invasive Carp Status Map

January 1, 2022

A map displaying the electric barrier system with a star located 37 miles from Lake Michigan in the Chicago Area Waterway System in Northeast Illinois. The leading edge of adult bighead and silver carp is 10 miles below the electric barrier system. The leading edge of potential bighead and silver carp reproduction on the Upper Illinois River is depicted as 62 miles away from Lake Michigan in the Marseilles Pool. Verified spawning is shown to be in the Starved Rock Pool, 88 miles away from Lake Michigan.

The current leading edge of various life stages of silver and bighead carp in the Upper Illinois River. Also included:

  • The June 22, 2017 capture of a single adult silver carp above the electric barrier system, but below T.J. O'Brien Lock 9 miles from Lake Michigan.
  • The 2015 detections of three larval fish in the Dresden Island Pool. There have been no other detection before or after the 2015 event.
  • The 2010 capture of a single bighead carp in Lake Calumet.
  • The 2009 capture of a single bighead carp during rotenone action in the Lockport Pool.

All distances measured in river miles from Lake Michigan (Chicago Harbor). Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Illinois Waterway Navigation Charts.

The Invasive Carp