Sampling Concludes in Illinois Waterway - No Silver or Bighead Carp Found

August 30, 2022

Contact:
Hannah Bergemann, Hannah_Bergemann@fws.gov, (612) 427-1881
Jayette Bolinski, Jayette.Bolinski@Illinois.gov, (217) 785-3953

A person on a metal boat lifts netting from the water. A pile of aquatic plant debris sits on the boat deck. Another boat on the water can be seen in the background.
As part of the rapid response monitoring effort, a commercial fisherman checks a gillnet for invasive carp along the Calumet River. Photo courtesy of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

CHICAGO, IL – No silver or bighead carp were seen or caught during two consecutive weeks of rapid response monitoring initiated by the capture of an adult silver carp in Lake Calumet on August 4, 2022. The response monitoring was conducted August 5 through August 19 in Lake Calumet and adjacent waters within the Chicago Area Waterway System.

The silver carp captured on August 4 was collected by gill netting and electro-fishing crews from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following a reported sighting of an invasive carp by a member of the public. The capture triggered the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee’s Contingency Response Plan, which provides direction for coordinated on-the-water action in the event a silver or bighead carp is discovered in unexpected locations, including in the Chicago Area Waterway System.

Crews from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and contracted commercial fishers conducted the response monitoring operation. Monitoring crews were deployed daily, beginning in Lake Calumet before transitioning to a broader area spanning from Calumet Harbor to T.J. O’Brien Lock and Dam. The field portion of the operation exceeded 1,500 person-hours. In addition, commercial fishers working with Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologists set more than 43 miles of gill net, while crews with Illinois Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted over 57 hours of electro-fishing runs.

The response effort produced approximately 550 smallmouth buffalo, 137 flathead catfish, 125 common carp, 66 freshwater drum and an assortment of other native species that were captured and released. In addition, four grass carp were collected and removed.

With the conclusion of the rapid response efforts on August 19, interagency invasive carp monitoring and removal actions in the upper Illinois Waterway and the Chicago Area Waterway System will continue to be guided by the 2022 Monitoring and Response Plan. The plan includes two consecutive weeks of intensive invasive carp monitoring upstream of the electric dispersal barriers in October, including in Lake Calumet.

The silver carp captured August 4 was sent to Southern Illinois University for analysis to determine the fish’s age and origin.

For more information on the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, please visit invasivecarp.us.