FWS Photo
Ann Runstrom holding a bighead carp
Photo by Owen Johnson, Volunteer USFWS
Distribution Maps
Silver carp
Bighead carp
Black carp
Grass carp
|
Asian
Carp Monitoring
Four species of fish that have been introduced into the United State and are considered invasive under the Lacey Act are bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, black carpMylopharyngodon piceus, grass Ctenopharyngodon idella, and silver carp Hypophthalmichthys
molitrix. A national control planwas developed in 2007 to help preventl the continued spread of these nuisance fish.
La Crosse FWCO's 8th Annual Carp Corral took place June 15-19 2009, in the Illinois Waterway System. Approximately 40 biologists from the USFWS and nine
other federal, state and local agencies helped monitor
the spread of these exotic fish. The Carp Corral, a 4-day survey,
was completed to determine the range and relative abundance
of Asian carps in the Waterway. Sampling for carp
was widely scattered in the Calumet-Sag Channel, the
Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the Des Plaines River
and the Illinois River. Sampling gear consisted of trammel and gill nets set overnight.
Tissue samples were taken to screen for viral and bacterial
fish pathogens and parasites. Results of the 2009 survey indicate that Asian carp
are located as far upstream as 45 miles from Lake Michigan (river mile 281.5). In the
Illinois River near La Salle and Peru, about 100 miles
from Lake Michigan, bighead carp, silver carp, and grass
carp were caught in abundance.
A silver carp was caught in the upper Mississippi River by a commercial fisherman in November 2008 near La Crosse, WI. This is the first confirmed silver carp upstream of Clinton, Iowa and the first identified in Wisconsin. Several more silver carp were captured here early in 2009.
The next Asian Carp Corral will take place June 14-18, 2010, in the Illinois Waterway System. If you are interested
in participating this year, please contact Mark Steingraeber at the La Crosse FWCO,
(608) 783-8436 mark_steingraeber@fws.gov |
