Contacts
Pam Thiel,
608-783-8431
Rachel F.
Levin, 612-713-5311
The U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service--along with federal, state and regional partners--will
again be searching the Illinois Waterway from the western Chicago suburbs
to the Havana area for invasive fish.
During the “Carp
Corral/Goby Roundup,” June 14-17, biologists will attempt to determine
the relative abundance and upstream distribution of the bighead and silver
carp—two invasive Asian carp species—and chart the downstream
leading edge of the round goby. Biologists will also collect fish health
samples to detect pathogens such as the non-native spring viremia of carp
virus.
Sampling covers
a 180-mile stretch of the Illinois Waterway from Alsip to Havana.
Members of the media are invited for a first-hand experience with a field crew
on Wednesday, June 15, or Thursday, June 16. Abundant goby populations may
be seen at the upstream sites and jumping silver carp will be collected at
the downstream areas.
Contact Pam
Thiel at 608-783-8431 by Thursday, June 9, for more information or to secure
a space. Space is limited and will be given on a first-come, first-served
basis.
The interconnecting channels and natural rivers of the Illinois Waterway System
in the Chicago area provide a direct link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi
River Basin for non-native species to travel in either direction. Together
these basins encompass portions of 30 states and two Canadian provinces. The
potential economic and environmental impacts of Asian carp, round goby and
other invasive species are widespread and significant.
The “Carp
Corral/Goby Roundup” surveillance is critical in determining whether
Asian carp have moved upstream of an electrical barrier near Romeoville on
their way to Lake Michigan and whether round gobies have made their way farther
downstream.
“ Invasive
Asian carp can upset the natural balance of the ecosystem, and in addition,
the silver carp can actually jump high out of the water and into your boat,
causing a safety hazard for anglers, boaters and skiers,” said Pam
Thiel, project leader for the Service’s La Crosse, Wis., Fishery Resources
Office and coordinator of the “Carp Corral/Goby Round Up.”
An electrical
fish barrier near Romeoville, Ill., in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal--designed
to prevent and slow the spread of nonindigenous aquatic species--has been
operational since 2002. This experimental prototype has been effective, but
the electrified cables could fail at any time.
“ Construction
is underway for a permanent barrier just downstream from the prototype and
is slated for completion in mid- to late-summer,” said the University
of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute’s Dr. Phil Moy, co-chair of the Dispersal
Barrier Advisory Panel.
Biologists found a bighead carp 21 miles below the electrical barrier, about
50 miles from Lake Michigan, but to date no bighead or silver carp have been
collected above the barrier. However, reproducing populations of bighead and
silver carp have expanded into lower portions of the Illinois River to the
Starved Rock Lock and Dam.
“ The
Great Lakes fishery brings $4 billion to the region every year and approximately
5 million anglers fish the waters annually, and invasive species like Asian
carp and round goby threaten the very future of this valuable resource,” said
Marc Gaden, spokesman for the bi-national Great Lakes Fishery Commission. “We
must do everything possible to halt these biological invasions. With the
fate of both the Great Lakes and Mississippi River fisheries at risk, there
are elevated concerns for the future.”
Native to
large rivers of Asia, bighead and silver carp were brought to the United
States in the early 1970s and began appearing in public waterways in the
early 1980s. These species are plankton feeders, eating microscopic plants
and animals, and can reach weights of more than 80 pounds. They compete for
food with larval and juvenile fish, as well as adult paddlefish, gizzard
shad, bigmouth buffalo and native mussels.
The round
goby, a non-native fish from the Black and Caspian seas, was first discovered
in North American waters in 1990 and has since spread to all of the Great
Lakes. Known for its aggressive feeding and defensive behavior and prolific
reproductive rate, the exotic round goby is a threat to native fish and a
nuisance to anglers.
The goby has
been moving inland from Lake Michigan toward the Mississippi River basin
via the Illinois Waterway System since 1993. Last July, the Illinois Natural
History Survey collected a round goby below the Peoria Lock and Dam, nearly
170 miles from Lake Michigan and half the distance to the Mississippi River.
Since 1871,
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Fisheries Program has played a vital role
in conserving and managing native fish and other aquatic resources. For more
information about the Fisheries Program, go to http://fisheries.fws.gov.
The U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving,
protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for
the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre
National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife
refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas.
It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management
offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal
wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory
bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and
restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance
program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes
on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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