were interviewed in 1977, as part of another project (Bellrose et al. , 

 1977: B8-B9). These interviews indicated there is a demand for fish 

 along the Illinois River which currently cannot be net from the Illinois 

 River fishery. For example, Dixon's Fish Market on Peoria Lake (a 

 main stem lake on the Illinois River upstream from the study area) 

 purchases carp from Wisconsin for use in their fee-fishing areas and 

 channel catfish from fish farms in Arkansas for wholesale and retail 

 trade. Mr. A.T. Nelson, who operates a market on the Illinois River 

 at Pearl (within the project area, river mile 43.2), buys carp and 

 buffalo from the Mississippi River and sea food. 



When market operators and commercial fishermen are asked why the 

 markets do not buy fish from the Illinois River, the most frequent re- 

 ply is that there are fewer large fish in the river than formerly, and 

 the remaining fish are in relatively poor condition. Most of the younger 

 commercial fishermen along the Illinois River work only part-time at com- 

 mercial fishing. They also use pickup trucks and trailerable boats to 

 range widely over the states of Illinois and Iowa to take advantage of 

 fishing opportunities in reservoirs and in the Mississippi River. Al- 

 though they live along the Illinois River, because their families grew 

 up there, they report that their catches in the Illinois do not bring 

 as great a return for their time, gasoline, and equipment expense, as 

 their catches elsewhere. 



The loss of backwater habitat due to draining and sedimentation has 

 affected the commercial fisheries in some sections of the river (Bellrose 

 et al., 1977: C107-C115). However, the major drainage projects were 

 completed in the 1920's (Mills et al. , 1966: 5) yet the commercial fish- 

 eries in the Illinois River have continued a steady decline up to the 

 present (Table 9 ) . Drainage and leveeing were most extensive within 

 the project area of the Illinois River, leaving little more than a main 

 channel and side channels (except for Meredosia Lake at the upstream end 

 and several lakes and backwaters between the mouth and river mile 15) , 

 yet the remaining commercial fishing became concentrated in this reach 

 of the river because the carp were generally in better condition and 

 more marketable (Figure 3 ) and legal-size catfish were more abundant 

 (Sparks, 1975: Table 21) than in other reaches. Habitat loss alone 



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