More than $47 million for 45 projects announced for the ongoing battle against invasive carp in the Great Lakes basin

April 26, 2024

To support the ongoing battle to reduce the destructiveness of invasive carp and the threats they pose to the Great Lakes, the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee today announced the release of its annual Invasive Carp Action Plan for 2024. Comprised of 26 governmental entities from the United States and Canada, the ICRCC, co-chaired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is convened to prevent the introduction and establishment of invasive carp in the Great Lakes by assisting member agencies in implementing their authorities to reduce or eliminate the threats posed by these species. Species addressed through the Action Plan include bighead carp, silver carp, grass carp and black carp.

This year, 45 collaborative projects are being supported through $47.4 million, including $26.4 million in agency funding and $21.0 million through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a regional investment funded over the past 15 years to address key threats to the Great Lakes basin. Work conducted through the Action Plan helps protect the Great Lakes recreational and commercial fishery which is valued at almost $7 billion annually.

Invasive carp are now present in much of the Mississippi River basin, disrupting ecosystems and impacting native fisheries, mussels and aquatic habitats. The population front of bighead carp and silver carp in the Illinois River, the most significant pathway risk to the Great Lakes because of its hydrologic connection to Lake Michigan, remains about 47 miles away and has not changed over the last 10 years.

The 2024 Action Plan projects are focused on:

• Preventing the introduction of silver carp and bighead carp into the Great Lakes, with a focus on movement through the Illinois Waterway, where a potential pathway exists through the Chicago Area Waterway System.
• Developing hydrologic barriers to block other potential migration pathways into the Great Lakes, including completing the first phase of construction and infrastructure upgrades at the Little Killbuck Creek connection in Ohio, an intermittent pathway to Lake Erie during high water. Additional effort includes ongoing maintenance of barriers at Eagle Marsh near Fort Wayne, Indiana, and the Ohio & Erie Canal near Akron, Ohio.
• Preventing grass carp from becoming established in the Great Lakes, with a focus on eradication in the western basin of Lake Erie and its tributaries. Grass carp have been captured in all the Great Lakes except Superior, but Lake Erie is considered the most immediately at risk due to occurrences of reproduction in the past. These projects involve removal, research, evaluating demographics and movement, and conducting sampling in tributaries of the other lakes.
• Assessing black carp to inform new management strategies, with a focus on the lower Illinois River.
• Interagency information-sharing and coordination on project progress, emerging needs and preparedness planning. This includes management of www.invasivecarp.us, a consolidated resource showcasing the activities of the Invasive Carp Regional Coordinating Committee and its individual members.

The Action Plan strategy for preventing the introduction and establishment of invasive carp in the Great Lakes was first developed in 2010 and is updated every year to incorporate the most current science and adaptive management approaches. It supports the goals and recommendations provided in the initial national, multi-basin invasive carp plan, the Management and Control Plan for Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver Carps in the United States, developed in 2007.