Asian Carp Monitoring and Rapid Response Plan for the CAWS - Telemetry Study

CRSAC

January 2011 - December 2016

This project examines the behavior and responses of fishes to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Electric Dispersal Barriers in Romeoville, Ill., approximately 25 miles from Lake Michigan. The Barriers deter the inter-basin establishment of Asian carp and other aquatic invasive species via pulsing electricity through the man-made canal that connects the Illinois River with Lake Michigan. Telemetry allows researchers to assess the efficacy of the Barriers to deter fish passage and provides additional information on lock passage in the preceding pools leading up to the Barriers. The potential expansion of Asian carp, specifically bighead and silver, through the Illinois River, Des Plaines River and Chicago Area Waterway System is one risk facing the Great Lakes today. Adult populations and potential spawning of these fishes are currently located approximately 60 miles downstream from Lake Michigan. Telemetry also allows researchers to investigate the movement patterns of individuals at that leading edge of the invasion front.

• Determine if fish are able to approach and/or penetrate the Barrier (Barrier Efficacy); Objective 1 Monitor the movements of tagged fish (large and small) in the vicinity of the Barrier using receivers placed immediately upstream, within, and immediately downstream of the Barrier, in addition to mobile tracking. Objective 2 Determine if there is adequate detection coverage to effectively assess efficacy of Barrier.
• Determine if and how Asian carp pass through navigation locks in the Upper IWW; Objective 1 Monitor the movements of tagged fish at Marseilles, Dresden Island, Brandon Road, and Lockport Locks and Dams using stationary receivers placed above and below each dam.
• Determine the leading edge of the Asian carp range expansion; Objective 1 Determine the leading edge of Asian carp invasion; currently, RM 281.5 is the upstream location of Asian carp population. Objective 2 Describe habitat use and movement in the areas of the Upper IWW and tributaries where Asian carp have been captured and relay information to the population reduction program undertaken by IDNR and commercial fishermen.

• The telemetry program provides project managers and stakeholders with information on Barrier efficacy so that they can make informed decisions on operating parameters and procedures that will optimize invasive species deterrence. Probability and frequency of lock passage and leading edge movement patterns also provide valuable information regarding the present level of risk for Asian carp presence at the Barriers location.

• Matthew Shanks (United States Army Corps of Engineers) - matthew.r.shanks@usace.army.mil
• Nicholas Barkowski (United States Army Corps Of Engineers)
• Kelly Baerwaldt (United States Army Corps Of Engineers)

• Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee
• White House Council on Environmental Quality
• United States Environmental Protection Agency

• Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

http://asiancarp.us