Workshop participants watch as scientists and resource managers catch Asian Carp on the Illinois River.
Asian Carp at the
Gates of the Great Lakes
A workshop for journalists
November 3-5, 2019
Chicago, IL
Of the countless invasive species reconfiguring ecosystems and busting management budgets across the United States, none has captured the public imagination like Asian carp. These fishes, once stocked widely across the U.S. to eat nuisance aquatic weeds, have since upended the food webs of their adopted waterways, muscled once-abundant native fish species to the margins, and, in the case of the often-airborne silver carp, become viral sensations on YouTube.
Since 2002, a population of Asian carp has lurked not far downriver from Chicago where, thanks to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the fish would be able to move from the Mississippi River watershed and into the Great Lakes. In May of 2019, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent Congress a $778 million proposal to install a series of technological deterrents in the canal to prevent the fishes from moving upstream.
In November 2019, IJNR led a two-day workshop exploring the story of Asian carp in America. Participating reporters had a chance to talk to elected officials, state and federal regulators, scientists, anglers and more as they:
• Visited the Brandon Road Lock and Dam to talk with experts about the recent proposal sent to Congress and learned about the assorted technological tools the Army Corps plans to use to deter carp from moving upstream;
• Headed down to the Illinois River for a first-hand look at what it’s like when a river gets overrun with Asian carp;
• Visited the electric barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, the last line of defense keeping carp out of the Great Lakes;
• Heard from scientists about the potential impacts Asian carp would have on Great Lakes ecosystems and the likelihood they would thrive in the Great Lakes;
• Discussed the long legacy of humans moving species to new environments and the latest research on invasive species ecology;
• Met with commercial fishermen taking advantage of Illinois’ incentives for catching carp, and tasted the fare of a chef determined to make carp a popular menu item.
