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A bighead carp at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
Asian Carp & the Great Lakes
Asian carp have been making their way up the Mississippi River system for years after escaping from fish farms and wastewater treatment ponds in the southern U.S.They’re knocking on the door of the Great Lakes, and a number of people are concerned about what could happen if carp become established in the region.In this five-part series, we’ll take a look at what officials are trying to do to keep the fish out, what might happen if carp get in, and why some people want to turn carp into a business opportunity.

Army Corps bumps up the juice on fish barrier to block carp

Michigan Public | By Mark Brush
Published September 9, 2011 at 2:08 PM EDT
Fisheries biologists use electric probes in the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal to find Asian carp near the electric fish barrier located in Romeoville, IL in 2009.
Petty Officer Bill Colclough
/
U.S. Coast Guard
Fisheries biologists use electric probes in the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal to find Asian carp near the electric fish barrier located in Romeoville, IL in 2009.

Officials at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chicago District say they plan to pump up the electricity at their fish dispersal barrier along the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal. The increase is intended to repel smaller fish.

From the U.S. ACOE's statement:

While extensive research and monitoring indicate that small Asian carp currently are not currently within the vicinity of the fish barrier, and all field telemetry research indicates the barrier is highly effective, the Corps is taking this conservative approach to operating the electrical dispersal barrier out of an abundance of caution.

Corps officials say they'll turn up the power "later this fall."

In the statement, Corps officials say they have an aggressive monitoring program and have tracked nearly "1.9 million detections of tagged fish in the barrier area, with no indication of tagged fish having crossed any of the electric barriers in the upstream direction."

Environmental DNA (eDNA) evidence was found above the barrier leading some to wonder whether the fish are establishing themselves in waters close to the Great Lakes.

Officials at the Corps say while DNA testing has some advantages, but "eDNA does not provide conclusive proof of the physical presence of live fish."
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Environment & Climate Change Environmentinsvasive speciescarp
Mark Brush
Mark Brush was the station's Digital Media Director. He succumbed to a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in March 2018. He was 49 years old.
See stories by Mark Brush
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