ILLINOIS — Hundreds of Asian Carp, recently renamed to Copi, were caught on camera leaping out of the Illinois River in the wake of a small boat.
WGN viewer Connie Stipanovich and friends were on their 2nd annual boat trip from Starved Rock Yacht Club down to Peoria last weekend when the hum of their outboard motor induced these fish to start flying. Stipanovich recorded part of the unexpected ordeal which included at least one fish landing on board. Check out the video above to witness it for yourself.
WGN News Now’s Chip Brewster got the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Brian Schoenung on the virtual line to react to the video, and dive a bit deeper into the on-going threat brought on by the invasive species. Schoenung is the aquatic nuisance species program manager for the DNR and recapped the history of the fish’s time in the region, what’s being done to keep the species from making it into area lakes, and the multi-pronged approach to reduce the population with the ultimate goal of elimination.
Among those last efforts is the rebranding of the fish itself by the DNR to encourage consumption of Copi. In fact, when asked what your average person could do to help, Schoenung said seeking out and eating the “very delicious fish” could be a powerful economic force to solve the population problem.
See the full interview with the DNR in the video above.