Fisheries (continued)

Stephen A. Forbes and Robert E. Richardson publish a paper in 1919, Some Recent Changes in Illinois River Biology. Their study demonstrates a dramatic increase in the fish harvests of the Illinois River from 1894 to 1899. Statistics collected by the Illinois Fisherman's Association, the Illinois State Fish Commission, and the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries document first an increase in harvest, followed by a decline. Data of shipments at Havana, a major fishing point on the river (See Figure 23), show that from 1894 to 1899 the yield of the river rises from 6,037,378 pounds to 12,605,691 pounds. Between 1900 and 1908, the harvest rises from 11,899,865 pounds to 21,583,000 pounds. By 1912, however, the fish harvest declines 25% from the 1896 harvest.

Figure 23: Fish Market Wharf at Havana (Alliance Library System)

Forbes and Richardson identify four primary reasons for the rise and fall of fish production. Three of these contribute to the rise in fish harvests:

1. The diversion of the sewage from Chicago, discussed earlier;
2. The rapid increase in the European (German) carp (Figure 24), which yielded 64% of the entire product of the river fisheries; and
3. The increased stimulus to fish because of the abundance of the carp.

The fourth, the drainage of the bottomlands from 1908 onward, leads to the decline that more than offsets the gains made by the first three.

Figure 24: German Carp (Department of Virginia Inland Game & Fisheries)

The Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) is not native to Illinois. This species thrives in warm, shallow water and can adapt to different temperatures and turbidity. Common Carp are bottom feeders that lie on the bottom and eat vegetation, insect larvae, and small crustaceans (Harvesting the River).