2018-Barge-Entrainment-Study-Report.jpg

2018-Barge-Entrainment-Study-Report.jpg
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In 2018, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted an experimental study to assess the potential for juvenile Asian carp to be both entrained and retained within barge junction gaps and transported upstream and into a navigation lock chamber in the Illinois Waterway. The results of the research illustrate that there is a potential for small Asian carp to be inadvertently trapped and transported by commercial barge tows through upstream lock chambers. The 2018 field trials were completed using three species of live small Asian carp including silver carp, bighead carp and grass carp. Work was completed in the La Grange and Peoria pools of the Illinois Waterway in Illinois where self-sustaining populations of Asian carp are already established.

This study built upon results from the 2017 barge trials which demonstrated that silver carp with a mean total length of 41.6 mm can be retained within the junction gap of barges and transported up to 6.4 km upstream in the Illinois River.

Author(s)
Nathan T. Evans
Mark J. Brouder
Type of document
Report
Facility
A gill net set out on the river on a foggy morning
Carterville Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office
Established in 1981, the Carterville Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office (FWCO) is located in southern Illinois and serves the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Kentucky. In 2015, the Carterville FWCO established a substation in the southern outskirts of the Chicago metropolitan...
Conservation Office
Carbondale,IL
Program
Juvenile Northern Pike in aquarium at Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery, South Dakota
The Fish and Aquatic Conservation program leads aquatic conservation efforts for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We are committed to tackling the nation’s highest priority aquatic conservation and recreational challenges to conserve, restore, and enhance fisheries for future generations.
Program
Falls Church,VA
Species
A Silver carp jumping out of the water with boat wake below and a tree lined shoreline in the background

Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) are one of four nonnative fish species belonging to a group commonly referred to as “invasive carp”. Native to eastern Asia, silver carp were introduced to the United States during the 1970’s and 1980’s to private fish farms and wastewater...

FWS Focus
Species
Kingdom
Animalia
Taxonomic Rank
Species