Expansion of Standardized Electrofishing in the Peoria Reach to Evaluate the Response of Native Fish Communities to Enhanced Contracted Commercial Fishing

This report presents a summary of data collected from the 2020-2021 segment of the expansion of standardized electrofishing in the Peoria Reach to evaluate the response of native fish communities to enhanced contracted commercial fishing, a survey conducted by members of the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), with funds administered by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). Sampling for this project used a custom-built shallow drive electrofishing boat needed to access the shallow and silted-in backwater areas common on the Peoria Reach. All fish were identified to species, enumerated, and measured to the nearest 10mm bin from June 15-September 15. From September 16-October 31, all fish >100mm were measured to the nearest mm and weighed to the nearest gram. Our most common species consisted of gizzard shad, emerald shiners, and spottail shiners. This project is now (and from here forward) conducted under the Multi-agency Asian carp monitoring project.