Temperatures and water levels proved favorable for the harvest
from Nov. 28 to Dec. 6, which depended on silver and bighead
carp congregating and becoming easy pickings for a huge seine
net. Last year, the operation netted 350,000 pounds from the
river's Starved Rock pool.
Allie Lenaerts, a large river ecologist for the Illinois Natural
History Survey, a research institution on the campus of the
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told The Center Square
it is critically important to control these invaders.
Of the four invasive carp species, the silver and bighead are
the biggest problem. They feed on the bottom of the food chain,
eating things like plankton, which then becomes scarce for
native species like gizzard shad and paddlefish.
“All fish when they hatch are usually eating the same food
sources. So, they’re competing directly with native fish,” she
said.
And in the battle for food, the silver and bighead are likely to
win. Described as prolific spawners, they can outgrow predators
within a year, Lenaerts said.
“They also might affect the fishery in the Great Lakes if they
do get to the Great Lakes,” Lenaerts said.
With its commercial fisheries, the Great Lakes would be
vulnerable if non-native fish entered its waterways, as Lenaerts
said, “It could crash the fisheries in the Great Lakes.”
As for the origin of this invasive species, she said, since the
1970s and 1980s, because of flooding, carp being used to clean
water at a catfish facility infiltrated the Mississippi River
and eventually reached the Illinois River. These annual net
operations help to control the population through the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources, the Illinois Natural History
Survey and commercial fishermen with a boost from federal tax
funds.
“As long as conditions are suitable, we’ll be doing this again
next year,” Lenaerts said.
Most of the fish harvested become fertilizer, but someday they
could be more desirable.
Lenaerts said there is a push to overcome carp’s bad rap with
the new name Copi, and serving it as a tasty restaurant dish.
Certain varieties do not have a strong fishy taste that often is
associated with bottom feeders.
“There’s been a negative stigmatism toward the word carp,” which
the renaming campaign is endeavoring to overcome, she said.
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