Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

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[Author]

[Date]

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Overview

• Asian carp• Chicago Area Drainage

• Range and spread of carp• Asian Carp and Dispersal Barrier Background• Draft Framework Approach

– Draft Framework Short-term Actions– Draft Framework Long-term Actions

• Funding• Comments

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Why we’re worried• Large bodied (>100 lbs)

– Bighead: 5 feet, 90 pounds– Silver: 3 feet, 60 pounds

• Eating machines– Up to 20% of body weight/day – Planktivores– Eat same food as natives

• Reproduce, develop quickly– 1 female = 1- 500 million eggs– Grow to ~10” in year 1

• Tend to jump when startled

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Saint Louis

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Range and Spread

• Can adapt to northern temperate zones

• Currently within striking distance of the Great Lakes

Reproduce, develop quickly– 1 female = 1- 500 million eggs– Grow to ~10” in year 1

• Tend to jump when startled

SILVER BIGHEAD

(Fro

m M

andr

ak a

nd C

udm

ore

and

Kol

ar e

t al)

BIGHEAD

SILVER

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Chronologic Upstream Movement of Asian Carp

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

• Detection above barrier– Silver =

2.9% positive– Bighead =

5.7% positive

Stopping the Spread:Monitoring and Detection

• Monitoring– Netting, electrofishing, ballast sampling, tagging– eDNA tests above and below barrier

Positive eDNA Detections above barriers

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Barrier Effect

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Stopping the Spread:Electrical Barriers

800’

220’

Ch

icag

o S

anit

ary

and

Sh

ip C

anal

Lake

Mic

higa

n

Wat

er F

low

Barrier IIA:- Activated @ 1 Volt/in, 5 hz,

4 ms in APR 2009- Increased to 2 Volt/in, 15

hz, 6.5 ms in AUG 2009- Maintenance shutdown

completed Dec 2009

Barrier I (Demonstration):

₋ In continuous operation since 2002

- 1 volt/in, 5 hz, 4 ms

- Rehabilitated in Oct 2008

Barrier I (Permanent): - Upgrade to a permanent

barrier authorized- Plan activation by 2013 if

funded

I

IIB

IIA

Other Ongoing Efforts:

- Asian Carp Monitoring

- Research on Optimum Operating Parameters

- Study of Solutions to Potential Barrier Bypasses

Barrier IIB:

₋Site prep completed

₋Building construction contract NTP issued 3 Dec

₋Electronics design ongoing

₋Construction to be completed 30 Sep 2010

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

IIA

IIB

To Lake Michigan

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Barrier Status and Funding

• Construction Status– Barrier I activated in 2002– Barrier II A activated in 2009– Barrier II B to be completed in late 2010

• Funding Status– Funding provided in federal budgets– Construction and operations

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Stopping the Spread:Rapid Response

• December 2009, Barrier IIA down for maintenance

• 400+ respondents, XX agencies and organizations

• Results…– Barrier maintenance success– Confirmed presence of Asian carp

in canal

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Strategic Framework: Short-and Long-term Actions

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework

• Goal: Prevent establishment of self-sustaining carp populations in the Great Lakes– Integrate and unify future actions of participating agencies,

develop collaborative approach– Transition to multi-tiered defense (beyond barriers)

• Dynamic document based on growing body of knowledge gained from research and monitoring

• Strategy: “…move quickly on proven solutions, and consider, develop, and test potential solutions and employ those that are most sound.”

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Framework:Short-term Actions

• Carp population suppression measures

• Enhanced detection measures– Increased sample collection– eDNA indicator refinement

• Structural operation variations

• Emergency engineering measures

• Expedited biological control assessments

• Enhanced electric barrier operations

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Framework:Long-term Actions

• Efficacy study • Inter-basin feasibility study• Ecological-separation• Modified lock operations• Commercial market

enhancement and ongoing fish population suppression

• Biological controls

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Framework:Funding

• Short-term actions– $38.6 million

• Long-term actions– $39.9 million

• Funding Sources– Great Lakes Restoration

Initiative: $57.4 million– Base Program Funding: $21.1

million

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

The Future:Ecological Separation?

• Ecological separation means…– NO interbasin transfer of aquatic organisms– PREVENT the movement; 100% effectiveness

• Ecological separation does not necessarily mean…– Stopping shipping or recreational traffic– Lock closure– More frequent or more severe floods

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

• Ecological separation might entail . . .– New infrastructure

o E.g.: Lift lock for recreational vessels, similar to the Big Chute Marine Railway on the Trent Severn Waterway, Ontario

– Chemical/heat barriers– Altered traffic flows (commercial and recreational

navigation)– Changes to hydrology– Different management of stormwater and wastewater– Improved transportation infrastructure– Enhanced infrastructure for tourism– Ecological restoration of waterways

The Future:Ecological Separation?

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

• USACE “Feasibility Study”– Corps authorized to investigate “range of options” for

separation– Multi-year study

• Other elements for others:– Investigate the transportation and water management

needs for the region;– Propose new infrastructure needs;– Take into consideration all connections that need to

be severed.

The Future:Ecological Separation?

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Need to know more?

www.asiancarp.org

Want to Comment?Email

carpcomments@gmail.com