An interesting tidbit for the state’s sportsmen is the proposed budget’s forecast for participation in fishing, trapping and hunting. The new budget proposal projects the state will have 710,000 fishermen in FY 2021 – the same number in FY 2020 but a drastic increase over the 579,497 anglers projected back in the FY 2017 budget.
Much of the focus has been on limiting their northerly migration and keeping them out of the Great Lakes, where experts say they could devastate a $7 billion fishing industry. That effort features an underwater electric barrier near Chicago, water sampling for carp DNA, subsidies for commercial fishers and experiments with a mass roundup-type harvest.
The fishing method is inspired by a traditional Chinese fishing technique. It involves setting a series of nets, underwater speakers and electrofishing gear to corral the carp.
An angler told the agency a silver carp jumped into his boat as he deployed a trolling motor.
The fence works as a deterrent by broadcasting noise at a frequency that irritates the carp. The noise is contained within a wall of bubbles that are lit by strobes. The combination has worked well in the laboratory and in smaller-scale outdoor settings.
(Illinois DNR)Wildlife agencies are stepping up waterway testing efforts following a spike in invasive Asian carp DNA detections in the Chicago River about five miles from Lake Michigan. Read the entire story here. Categories: Asian Carp, News Tags: Asian carp, Chicago River
A study led by University of Michigan researchers found that despite a drop-off in plankton, the tiny plants and animals on which bighead and silver carp typically feed, the lake has enough dietary options to sustain individual fish that venture away from nutrient-rich shoreline areas where most would congregate.
Some of the invasive fish reportedly from 20 to 30 pounds.
Thousands of the invasive carp reportedly clustering near the base of Lake Decatur dam.
The plan would use technology such as underwater loudspeakers, electric cables and air bubble curtains to deter the fish from migrating between the Illinois River and Lake Michigan through Chicago-area waterways.
The invasive was verified in the James River near LaMoure.
Efforts conducted June 3-14 included environmental DNA surveillance at more than 400 sites and investigation of 602 sites for fish.
Latest fish captures do not indicate reproduction.
The survey came after news broke that Gov. J.B. Pritzker wrote the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a letter last week indicating that he had authorized the state’s collaboration with preconstruction, design and engineering work in the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet.
Location of choice is considered a crucial choke point where the invasive carp could be prevented from migrating upstream toward the lake.
A crew from the University of Toledo working with the U.S. Geological Survey found the larvae during sampling last June in the Maumee River, a Lake Erie tributary.
In 2017, two silver carp were captured in the same location.
A crew from the University of Toledo working with the U.S. Geological Survey found the larvae during sampling last June in the Maumee River, a Lake Erie tributary.
Illinois governor tells Michigan governor that the offer to support operations at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Ill., won’t be useful until after an upgrade there is completed in 10 years.
The Corps’ new plan is similar to a draft from August 2017, but the estimated price tag has jumped from $275 million to nearly $778 million.
New survey finds over 7 in 10 residents back “fair share” funding proposal in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
In 2010, scientists found that, after Chicago’s waterways, this marsh in Fort Wayne was the second most likely place where the carp could invade the Great Lakes.
Part of continuing efforts to remove invasive grass carp, assess grass carp capture techniques and increase information on grass carp populations in the two rivers.
Invasive fish found on Missouri side of Bull Shoals Lake but, “Evidence suggests this is likely an isolated incident … and no evidence of a spawning population exists at this time.”
The carp were captured in Anderson Bay on the St. Croix River. One was a 46-inch, 39-pound mature male, and the second was a 43-inch, 46-pound mature female.
State willing to team with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to pay for the project but wants changes to a $275 million draft plan the federal agency released last year.
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