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Growth Of Commerical Fishing Brings Opportunity To Illinois River Valley

If life hands you lemons, make lemonade. In this case, it’s not lemons, but fish. Asian carp to be specific. While federal and state agencies continue to coordinate efforts and dollars to abate the invasive species from the river systems, harvesting is a quietly growing and effective part of the plan.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality led by Asian Carp Director John Goss and the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC) was held in  January, in Portage, IN, to discuss the proactive efforts of the Obama Administration and the Great Lakes states to prevent Asian carp from establishing a self-sustaining population in the Great Lakes. The committee was created in 2009 by the Obama administration in order to help integrate federal and state involvement in finding solutions to the Asian carp as an invasive ecosystem danger. In February, the committee released the 2012 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework.

Simultaneously, research has been ongoing as to the size and characteristics of the population presently as well as the potential impact harvesting can have on abatement. The potential volume of harvest creates an opportunity to do something besides disposal as the value of the Asian carp is also being evaluated for processing into various products for domestic and export purposes.  According to Dr. James E. Garvey, Director of Fisheries and Illinois Aquaculture Center and Professor, Department of Zoology at Southern Illinois University, for the first time, research has been able to put an actual number on the size of this fish’s population currently in the main channel of the Illinois River.

According to Garvey, 60% of the total biomass (which includes native species) is represented by the Asian carp.  He adds what they are eating isn’t available for the other species that are competing for the same food sources.. 

While fishing ultimately can’t be the only way to control the carp population, consistent hard harvesting is an important part of the solution. Culling the large mature members reduces the fish that reproduce and are also the size of fish that meets the demand for Chinese export. This is an established market as the Chinese highly value the fish for consumption. Developing fisheries to also harvest the smaller members could meet demands domestically for production of meal. Garvey estimates that there are 3.1 million pounds from the Peoria lock and dam to the channel. This does not include backwaters or the Peoria Lake which would more than double that figure. These fish are incredibly resilient to fishing and other controls.  Even though there might be greater than 7 million pounds sitting in the Illinois River at any one time, immigration from the Mississippi River, fast growth, and high reproduction will allow them to replenish that amount AS IT IS REMOVED.  The goal of managers is to get the harvest and other control measures to exceed the ability for the fish to repopulate as they are removed – likely a challenging task.

Southern Illinois University also conducted market research into the viability of a value added product, such as fish cakes and fillets, for domestic consumption. The research study conducted surveys of households, both nationally and regionally, that eat fish on a weekly basis. The majority responded positively to trying the product. It was also noted in the survey that it is very important to consumers today to buy local and that fact influences their buying decisions.

On the harvest and production side of this story, in 2011, Select Logistics Network Inc., of Clinton, Illinois was awarded an Illinois state grant to manage the entire supply chain coordination of a project to deliver Asian carp to Southern Illinois University for analysis. According to Lisa Edwards, owner and CEO of Select, they were delighted to be chosen for this project. It’s great to be part of a market solution to an environmental issue in our home state. She feels it’s been a challenge to meet the requirements as there are few remaining commercial fisheries on the Illinois River, but they have partnered with some great people and the project is in full swing. Networking with Big River Fish, Select is also handling shipments of Asian carp to global markets.

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