Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Electric Dispersal Barrier

Continued on back page The most recent invasive species threatening Illinois’ aquatic ecosystems are the bighead and silver carps, two of four species commonly called Asian carps. These fish grow quickly to more than 50 lbs by consuming 30– 50% of their body weight each day in small algae and other tiny organisms. They also reproduce quickly and migrate long distances to spawn. Currently, in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, these Asian carp are spreading rapidly upriver toward the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) where they could enter Lake Michigan and affect the entire Great Lakes basin. Because of the immediate danger of Asian carps crossing into the Great Lakes basin through the CSSC and the more general and persistent threat of invasive fishes passing this artificial connection between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River drainages, an electric barrier to fish movement was constructed in the CSSC near Romeoville, approximately 28 miles downstream from Chicago Harbor. Currently, Asian carp have been found about 22 miles downstream of the dispersal barrier location in Romeoville. This barrier creates a graded electric field that should repel fish as they sense the field, creatEvaluating the Effectiveness of an Electric Dispersal Barrier