There's almost no way to completely eliminate invasive carp in Illinois river systems. The fish are so pervasive, they are likely something generations will be trying to deal with. But, there's a desperate effort underway to stop these evil fish from reaching the Great Lakes and causing a catastrophe.

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This topic just came to light again thanks to a conversation on the Illinois sub-Reddit.

Trying to keep invasive carp out of the Great Lakes (article)
byu/NerdyComfort-78 inillinois

It's a multi-state effort including the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to keep invasive carp in the Illinois River from reaching the Great Lakes.

The battle is making progress as the state of Illinois says on the video share that they believe 68% of the invasive carp have been removed over the last 5 years. They say that there's no illusion that they'll get all of them out of Illinois rivers, but they must keep these fish out of the Great Lakes because they wreck ecosystems for native fish. That would be a disaster for the multi-billion dollar fishing industry there.

The Detroit Free Press story shared on the Illinois sub-Reddit talks about Michigan scientists and wildlife officials joining the effort to make sure these invasive fish don't become and even larger problem than they already are.

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Gallery Credit: Ancient Air Theatre via YouTube

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