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What We Do

Protecting the Great Lakes

Because invasive carp management is so wide-ranging and complex, our ability to combine our expertise and resources is the main leverage we have to face the threat effectively. Coordinated management mainly falls under these inter-related categories:  

  • State-led targeted mass removal 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.  

Experts from the Invasive Carp Regional Coordination Committee’s membership have formed specialized work groups to focus on certain aspects of invasive carp management, such as: 

  • Monitoring the distribution, abundance, congregating habits and movement of invasive carp populations in the Illinois River to inform mass removal and other management actions, and to assess our effectiveness over time 
  • Developing, maintaining and evaluating fish deterrent technologies and constructing barriers to block pathways between the Mississippi River basin and Great Lakes basin 
  • Conducting extensive on-the-water sampling throughout the Upper Illinois Waterway and the Great Lakes for any detections of invasive carp, or their environmental DNA, in new areas 
  • Contingency planning and practice to prepare for rapid response to various new detection situations most effectively 
  • Developing technology and methods for consolidating and analyzing data that help us continually refine all management actions  
  • Preventing grass carp from becoming established, with priority on efforts in western Lake Erie 
  • Improving our understanding of the black carp’s age, growth, distribution and abundance  
  • Providing information to the public and water-related industries to prevent unintentional introductions of invasive carp in new areas 
  • Sharing information about the work we do to fulfill our commitment to the public we serve 
Bluegill underwater.
We are starting to see encouraging signs that native fisheries are improving in parts of the Illinois River where targeted mass removal is reducing invasive carp abundance. For example, in areas where silver carp have been significantly reduced, we observe healthier native fish, such as bluegill, channel catfish and gizzard shad. Reducing invasive carp population abundance also decreases the risk of spread and can inhibit reproduction. Photo by Ryan Hagerty/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
eDNA Sample Collection
Our efforts are informed by intensive monitoring of invasive carp populations in the Illinois River and widespread surveillance throughout the Great Lakes for early detection of new spread, allowing rapid response. We use a variety of monitoring methods, including electrofishing, different kinds of netting, telemetry tracking, hydroacoustics and sampling for environmental DNA. Photo by Monica Blaser/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
A huge red crane on a platform in the water installing a section of fish fence at a dam.
Experiments at lock and dam sites, such as the Bio Acoustic Fish Fence on the Cumberland River in Kentucky, help inform considerations for deterrent projects that protect the Great Lakes. Another important deterrent experiment is the Underwater Acoustic Deterrent System at Lock and Dam No. 19 on the Mississippi River near Keokuk, Iowa. Operation of an Electric Dispersal Barrier System in the upper Illinois River, using underwater electrical currents as a deterrent, is one of the main tools currently used to prevent invasive carp from entering Lake Michigan. Photo by Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Coordination and Planning

In addition to the ongoing coordination taking place among our specialized work groups, we have developed a formal, cyclical process for carrying out priority projects, evaluating their effectiveness and refining our plans for what comes next.  

Each year, members evaluate their previous years’ work and collaborate to identify priority projects and cost-sharing proposals going forward. Through a process facilitated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, priority projects receive supplemental funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. This regional investment from the U.S. Congress targets the most significant threats to the health of the Great Lakes, including invasive carp. This funding has been pivotal in allowing state agencies to expand their efforts in their jurisdictional waters and address the invasive carp threat for the benefit of the entire Great Lakes region.  

The full range of priority projects is compiled into an annual action plan and published in the Spring. In recent years, we have carried out around 45 priority projects at a total cost-shared amount of nearly $50 million per year. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative provides $21 million of that total amount. Toward the end of each year, we begin the annual evaluation and planning process once again.   

Read our annual Action Plans