Two separate but complementary invasive carp mass removal projects on the Illinois River – amounting to nearly 46 million pounds removed to date – are on track to meet or exceed the goals set in the 2025 Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee Action Plan. The growing volume of removed fish reflects the knowledge and understanding partners are gaining from a suite of projects to protect the Great Lakes from the threat of invasive carp. Projects focused on monitoring the distribution, abundance, congregating habits and movement of invasive carp populations are helping to continually improve the effectiveness of removal.
During the first half of 2025, commercial fishers working on contract with fish biologists from the State of Illinois removed more than 738,000 pounds of invasive carp from a stretch of the upper Illinois River comprising most of the Starved Rock, Marseilles and Dresden Island pools. This removal effort is targeted in the area surrounding the adult population front for silver carp and bighead carp located within the Dresden Island pool about 50 miles from Lake Michigan. Nearly 1.3 million pounds of invasive carp were removed from the same area in all of 2024, with larger hauls usually occurring during cooler months. From this effort’s inception in 2010 through 2024, nearly 16 million pounds of invasive carp have been removed from the upper Illinois River.
Another larger removal effort, enhanced by a state harvest incentive program for commercial fishers, covers the lower 240 miles of the Illinois River comprising the Alton, LaGrange and Peoria pools. Silver carp and bighead carp, as well as grass carp, are much more abundant in these pools and all life stages are present. During the first half of 2025, more than 3.1 million pounds of invasive carp have been removed from this area. More than 6.3 million pounds of invasive carp were removed from the lower Illinois River in all of 2024. From this effort’s inception in 2019 through 2024, nearly 30 million pounds of invasive carp have been removed from these lower pools.
The upper Illinois River removal effort is designed to suppress the mostly adult populations in that area, limit their ability to reproduce and reduce migration pressure upstream towards the Electric Dispersal Barrier System located about 37 miles from Lake Michigan. Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the electric barrier is designed to deter fish movement through the Chicago area waterway and is currently one of the main tools used to prevent aquatic invasive species from entering the Great Lakes. The Brandon Road Interbasin Project is now under construction, combining several deterrent technologies for a more robust line of defense.
As is the case with removal on the lower river, the vast majority of invasive carp removed from the upper Illinois River so far this year were silver carp, with the largest volume removed from the Starved Rock pool. Silver carp, grass carp and bighead carp populations generally increase in abundance toward the Illinois River’s confluence with the Mississippi River. Black carp are also known to be present in the lower Illinois River but are captured much less frequently.
Invasive carp multiplied and expanded their range since their entry into the lower Mississippi River some 50 years ago. They are now widespread throughout much of the 31-state Mississippi River basin. Altogether, nearly 50 partners are formally organized to carry out what is now more than 80 priority projects across the waterscape of the Mississippi River and Great Lakes basins. Efforts of the 26-member Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee to protect the Great Lakes are complemented by another partnership with a focus on invasive carp management in the Mississippi River basin. The Mississippi Interstate Cooperative Resource Association, known as MICRA, unites 28 states and three federal agencies and serves as the umbrella group for six sub-basin partnerships. These partnerships are among the largest coordinated conservation efforts in North America.