Biologists clean up more than 700,000 pounds of invasive carp in Illinois river

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — Some fishermen and biologists just got back from a very successful fishing trip on the Illinois River – more than 700,000 pounds of carp!

According to a news release from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, agency biologists along with commercial contracted fishers and Illinois River Biological Station biologists caught and removed more than 750,000 pounds of silver carp during a 10-day intensive harvest operation in the Starved Rock pool of the river.

The department said the harvest operation is its biggest single removal operation. They also believe it’s the largest freshwater harvest in the United States.

The crew used a process called seining, where a net surrounds the fish from all sides and underneath to bring them to the bank. The silver carp cannot jump out of the seine in cool water.

Last year the operation was able to remove 350,000 pounds. This year, the crew had more experience while the weather cooperated for the operation between Nov. 27 and Dec. 6.

“Clearly, this removal technique is highly effective, but it is also highly dependent on water levels and water temperature,” Brian Schoenung, the aquatic nuisance species program manager for IDNR, said. “This past week provided near perfect conditions, which facilitated the record-breaking haul of fish.”

The goal of the program is to lower the amount of adult fish to suppress upstream migration and protect the Great Lakes from the invasive species. Fishers annually remove more than 1 million pounds of invasive carp from the Upper Illinois River under supervision by IDNR staff.

“Our partnership with contracted commercial fishers has been highly effective at preventing the upstream advance of invasive carp,” Justin Widloe, IDNR’s aquatic nuisance species program crew leader, said.

Central Illinois companies Sorce Freshwater in Peoria and Aquatic Protein in Beardstown provided trucking and removal support for the operation.

According to a blog post by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Prairie Research Institute, silver carp can typically weigh around 60 pounds. The carp threaten native fish and mussels populations who share the same food: plankton.