Interim reports released for two experimental invasive carp deterrent studies

October 10, 2023

Contact:
Andrea Fritts, PhD, afritts@usgs.gov, 608-781-6284
Marybeth Brey, PhD, mbrey@usgs.gov, 608-304-5135
Rob Simmonds, rob_simmonds@fws.gov, 618-889-0008

A line of bubbles in the water between the walls of the lock approach.
The BioAcoustic Fish Fence, commonly referred to as a BAFF, is installed in the downstream lock approach at Barkley Lock and Dam. The system, stretching across the width of the lock approach, consists of an air-bubble curtain, lights, and sound. Photograph by Andrea Fritts/U.S. Geological Survey.

Funding provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, U.S. Geological Survey, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service supports the evaluation of two experimental invasive carp deterrents. These deterrents include a BioAcoustic Fish Fence at Barkley Lock and Dam on the Cumberland River near Grand Rivers, Kentucky, and the Underwater Acoustic Deterrent System at Lock No. 19 on the Mississippi River near Keokuk, Iowa. The goal of these evaluations is to identify potential new technologies for use with complementary methods to protect the Great Lakes basin from invasive carp. Two interim project updates have been released as Open File Reports that provide information from the first two years of operation and evaluation for each study. Invasive carp and native fish behaviors were monitored in response to each experimental deterrent.

USGS Open-File Report 2023–1051:

Multimodal Invasive Carp Deterrent Study at Barkley Lock and Dam—Status Update through 2022
Fritts, A., Gibson-Reinemer, D., Stanton, J., Mosel, K., Brey, M., Vallazza, J., Appel, D., Faulkner, J., Tompkins, J., Castro-Santos, T., Sholtis, M., Turnpenny, A., Sorensen, P., and Simmonds, R., 2023, Multimodal invasive carp deterrent study at Barkley Lock and Dam—Status update through 2022: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2023–1051, 7 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20231051.

USGS Open-File Report 2023–1058:

Lock 19 Underwater Acoustic Deterrent System Study—Interim Project Update, through 2022 Brey, M.K., Woodley, C.M., Stanton, J.C., Fritts, A.K., Sholtis, M., Castro-Santos, T., Vallazza, J.M., and Albers, J.L., 2023, Lock 19 underwater acoustic deterrent system study—Interim project update, through 2022: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2023–1058, 11 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20231058.