Kayaks, dragnets to target invasive carp in Illinois waterways

From old-school nets to unmanned kayaks, biologists and commercial anglers are experimenting with new tools in their arsenal to stem the advance of invasive carp while they await the construction of deterrents at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam in Joliet.

Recently, they removed 750,000 pounds of silver carp from the Illinois River over 10 days in what they believe to be a record for freshwater harvest in the country. It is also the largest single removal effort of its kind led by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

This success came after years of trial and error, delayed by issues like lost or broken nets or bad weather.

“It’s one of those things that there’s a lot of pieces that have to fall into place for it to be effective,” said Brian Schoenung, aquatic nuisance species program manager for the department. “But we’ve done a really good job of mitigating those things that can go wrong, and we’ve just gotten better and better. So, yeah, it was a combination of…