Asian Carp Timeline

Asian carps are introduced to North America for use as biological control in the aquaculture industry. The four species of Asian carp include Bighead, Black, Grass, and Silver carps.

Flooding in the southern United States in the 1970s and onward likely results in Asian carps moving beyond their contained environments into open freshwater systems. Adapting quickly to the natural environment, two of the species, Bighead and Silver carps (together termed “bigheaded carps”) begin moving northward through the Mississippi Basin.

Grass Carp are intentionally stocked in ponds and other waterbodies across the United States for vegetation control. Research on sterilization techniques for Grass Carp commences and by 1985, stocking of triploid fish (which are unable to reproduce) starts to be adopted by some states.

After the water recedes following a major flood event in the Illinois River area, the number of dead Asian carps on the shoreline outnumbers all native fish species 9 to 1. This is a warning that Asian carps have invaded, and authorities realize there is a major problem.

The United States National Invasive Species Act authorizes the United States Army Corps of Engineers to construct a demonstration electric dispersal barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. This is done to prevent inter-basin establishment of gobies and subsequently Asian carps and other aquatic invaders between the Mississippi River Basin and the Great Lakes.

The demonstration electric barrier becomes operational in Romeoville, Illinois, which is approximately 40 km from Lake Michigan.

Canada participates in two Asian carp summits held in Chicago to consider strategies to prevent the entry of Asian carps into Lake Michigan.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducts a Risk Assessment to evaluate the likelihood of survival, reproduction, and spread of Asian carps in Canadian waters, should they be introduced; and to determine the potential impacts of these events. The study concludes that the risk is high in some parts of Canada, including the southern Great Lakes basin.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada Science staff begin participating in the development of the United States Asian Carp Control and Management Plan, and in a prevention subgroup.

As a result of the 2004 Risk Assessment, the Province of Ontario modifies regulations to ban the sale and possession of live Asian carps.

Canada initiates “border blitzes”, intercepting several shipments containing live Asian carps coming into Canada by air and road. Canadian officials have since continued working with several partner organizations to provide training, equipment and protocols to help with this monitoring.

Asian carp environmental DNA is discovered during monitoring exercises in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, 10 km from Lake Michigan. This leads agencies to believe that bigheaded carps could be much closer to the Great Lakes basin than previously thought. However, it is important to note that this environmental DNA could have originated from a wide variety of sources (e.g., transfer from a ship) and does not imply that a live fish was necessarily present at this location. During a scheduled shutdown for routine maintenance of the electrical barriers which control fish movement through that waterway, Canada contributes equipment and expertise toward containment efforts to prevent Asian carps from passing through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal into the Great Lakes.

Development of an Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework begins and sets forth a series of short- and long-term actions to control the spread of Bighead and Silver carps and prevent their introduction and establishment in the Great Lakes Basin.

Updates to the pre-existing electrical barrier are implemented and a second electric barrier becomes operational.

The Province of British Columbia bans the possession and sale of Asian carps.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada announces the launch of the “Bi-national Ecological Risk Assessment of Bigheaded Carps for the Great Lakes Basin”. The assessment is led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and coordinated by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

The Province of Ontario and Fisheries and Oceans Canada collaborate in mock exercises to test the Ministry of Natural Resource and Forestry’s Rapid Response Framework and communication systems. These frameworks are designed to be used in the event that Asian carps are discovered in the Canadian Great Lakes Basin.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) officially sign on as members of the US-led Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC).

The Fisheries and Oceans Canada-led “Bi-national Ecological Risk Assessment of Bigheaded Carps for the Great Lakes Basin” is completed. This report identifies likely routes where Silver and Bighead carps could enter the Great Lakes and assists in the preparation of immediate, effective actions against emerging threats to Canadian waters. It also provides scientifically defensible, peer-reviewed advice for determining the best courses of action by both countries to reduce the probability of introduction of these species into the Great Lakes.

The third electric barrier is placed into full-time operation.

The Government of Canada announces that $17.5 million will be allocated over the next 5 years for the prevention, early warning, response and management of Asian carps. As a result of the funding, Fisheries and Oceans Canada initiates the development of a new Asian Carp Program.

Canada also continues to work closely with American counterparts to develop an extensive early warning and surveillance system.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirms two separate captures of live Grass Carp in the Grand River near Lake Erie. The response is undertaken jointly by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Both Canadian specimens are confirmed to be sterile, leading to the conclusion that they were likely stocked individuals.

This same year, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) publishes a report showing evidence of reproducing Grass Carp in the Sandusky River in Ohio, a river that empties into the western basin of Lake Erie.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada begins work to assess the ecological risk of Grass Carp in the Great Lakes.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada researchers in Burlington also begin developing and testing new methods for controlling the movements of live fishes using sound and water pressure curtains. Native and non-native fishes that share similar behaviour to Asian carps are used for testing purposes.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers submits a report to the United States Congress outlining alternatives to prevent Asian carps and other invasive species from transferring between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins. The Great Lakes Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) Report includes a comprehensive range of options and technologies, along with estimated costs. According to the report, any impacts to Canada (e.g., flooding risks, water quality issues), even relatively minor ones, may require coordination with Canada.

The Province of Ontario proposes the Invasive Species Act to support the prevention, early detection, rapid response and eradication of invasive species in the province.

The Province of Québec (le Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs; MFFP) joins the ACRCC.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada completes construction of a new Asian Carp Laboratory in Burlington, Ontario at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Asian Carp Program captures a third Grass Carp in the Grand River; it is found to be sterile.

A total of nine Grass Carp are found in Canadian waters, eight in Lake Ontario and one in Lake Erie, by federal and municipal agencies, commercial fishers and an angler. Five are fertile. This marks the first captures of Grass Carp in Canadian waters of Lake Ontario.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada begins development of a formal response plan using the Incident Command System to respond to all verified captures or sightings of Asian carps in Canadian waters, in coordination with MNRF.

Following the report of a Grass Carp angled from a private lake, a joint multi-agency response with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry results in the capture of 10 Grass Carp, two of which are fertile. An additional Grass Carp is captured by a commercial fisherman in Canadian waters of Lake Erie.

The University of Toledo and USGS confirm that the eggs collected in the Sandusky River in 2015 are Grass Carp eggs.

A binational ecological risk assessment to determine the extent of the risk of Grass Carp to the Great Lakes basin and to provide useful, scientifically defensible advice on prevention, monitoring, early detection, and potential management actions for managers and decision-makers in Canada and the United States, is released.

A single Silver Carp is captured by a contracted commercial fisherman past the electric barriers, 14 km from Lake Michigan.
The same year, a dead Grass Carp washes up on the shore of the Grand River in Ontario; someone walking by reports it and Fisheries and Oceans Canada collects it for analysis.

Finally, a Grass Carp is caught in a commercial fishing net in Sarnia; it is found to be triploid (sterile).

Three Grass Carp are captured in commercial fishing nets in Ontario; two from Point Pelee (Lake Erie) and one from Sarnia (Lake Huron). All are determined to be triploid (sterile).

A binational risk assessment for Black Carp has been scoped and the associated research to feed into the risk assessment is well underway. This work is coordinated by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the expert authors are from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, USGS, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

A socio-economic risk assessment of the presence of Grass Carp in the Great Lakes basin, which provides a detailed analysis of the potential economic impacts of the establishment of Grass Carp in the Great Lakes, is released.

USGS confirms natural reproduction of Grass Carp in a second United States tributary of Lake Erie, following the discovery of larval Grass Carp in the Maumee River in Ohio.

No Grass Carp are captured in Canadian waters this year.