Asian carp surveillance ramping up in Illinois
May 24, 2012 2:56PM
Updated: May 24, 2012 11:20PM
CHICAGO (AP) — State and federal officials say they’re stepping up efforts to track and test for Asian carp in Illinois waterways this summer.
That includes sampling urban fishing ponds, surveying fish markets for live fish and random electrofishing and netting along a network of canals that connect Lake Michigan to the Illinois River.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologists on Thursday netted two Bighead carp at the Garfield Park Lagoon in Chicago. Bighead and silver carp are the two Asian species biologists are worried about.
DNR spokesman Chris McCloud says the fish had probably been in the lagoon for years.
This year’s plan includes about $12 million to focus on monitoring and removing Asian carp in the Chicago area before they can reach Lake Michigan and become established in the Great Lakes.
