US Geological Survey tags, studies silver carp in Illinois River

US Geological Survey scientists were in Allen Park in Ottawa on Wednesday collecting, weighing, measuring, tagging and releasing invasive silver carp back into the Illinois River.The scientists were studying how efficient their ongoing removal efforts are in the Starved Rock field.“We tag 1,000 fish, and then commercial fishermen report those tags as they encounter them over the next couple of weeks and months when they’re out doing removals,” said Scientist Jessica Stanton. “Then, we know how many tags we put out and depending on how many we get back, we can estimate the percentage of the removal rate.”Scientists left the boat ramp on the west side of Allen Park to head into the river and returned with approximately 15-20 carp each time.Stanton said they collect these fish’s measurements, length and sex, which provides the US Geological Survey with data on how efficient their removal effort has been. She said so many silver carp are removed from rivers every year, but they don’t have