Great Lakes conservation partners today announced more than $72 million will be dedicated to 45 priority projects in 2026 to protect the Great Lakes from the threat of invasive carp. Projects are coordinated among the 26-member Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, a partnership that leverages resources and expertise for the ongoing battle against the destructive spread of four kinds of invasive carp in North America: silver, bighead, grass and black.
The total cost for all projects is a combination of $51.4 million in agency appropriations and further supported by $21 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding, which has been pivotal in allowing state agencies to expand their efforts within their jurisdictional waters for the benefit of the entire region. These U.S. domestic projects protect a commercial and recreational Great Lakes fishery valued at almost $5.1 billion annually.
The 45 projects, described in detail in the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee’s FY2026 Action Plan, continue to support on-the-water detection, prevention and control efforts for Great Lakes protection. They are strategically focused on geographic areas of risk and include:
- State-led targeted mass removal of invasive carp for the most suppressive effect
- Developing deterrent technologies and constructing barriers to impede invasive carp movement and prevent range expansion
- Monitoring to inform all aspects of management and detect new spread early so we can prevent additional populations from establishing.
A major emphasis of the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee is preventing the introduction of silver and bighead carp into the Great Lakes, with a focus on managing these populations in the Illinois River because of the potential access to Lake Michigan through the Chicago area waterway. Because of targeted mass removal, the development of deterrents and ongoing intensive monitoring, the Illinois River bighead and silver carp population front – about 50 miles from Lake Michigan – has not advanced in 15 years.
Another urgent concern is related specifically to grass carp. Unlike the other kinds of invasive carp, grass carp historically have been detected in all the Great Lakes except Superior and a population currently exists in Lake Erie. Partners have made it a priority to prevent grass carp from becoming established in the Great Lakes, focusing on the western basin of Lake Erie and its tributaries.
Partners are also continuing to work with commercial fishers to gather black carp specimens for research and modifying sampling approaches to better target black carp in the lower Illinois River, applying what has been learned about black carp in the Mississippi River. Adult black carp’s primary food source – mussels and snails – is a concern given many species of freshwater mussels are imperiled.