@wbez_chicago: The invasive carp — a family of fish that also includes the Bighead carp, Black carp and Grass Carp — first turned up in the Mississippi River about 50 years ago. Experts say fish began overwhelming the waterway after escaping Arkansas fish farms, where they were imported to help limit algae and weed growth. In the intervening years, the fish expanded their range throughout the river and its tributaries — beginning to dominate the Illinois River in the 1990s. From the back of the carp sampling boat where Greendyk grabbed the slimy fish, Michael Spear, a quantitative ecologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey, said the carp populations weren’t as high in the northern stretch of the river as they are further downstream. For decades, officials have worried the fish could wreak disaster on the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem and the multibillion-dollar tourism, boating and fishing industries that rely on it. Now, the fight might be getting easier. Read more at WBEZ.org Story: Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

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Monday 10 November 2025 23:31:54 GMT