Curly's Photo and Fishing Blog
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Asian Carp’s Spread Spurs New Calls to Close Locks
CHICAGO—Lawmakers and environmentalists said they would ratchet up pressure on Illinois to block commercial waterways that feed into Lake Michigan after the first discovery of an Asian carp beyond existing barriers.
Fishermen this week discovered an Asian carp beyond an electrical barrier 25 miles south of Lake Michigan that was designed to keep the invasive species from entering the Great Lakes. The nearly three-foot-long, 19.6-pound carp was caught in Lake Calumet in Illinois, about six miles south of Lake Michigan.
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REUTERS
An Illinois state fisheries biologist holds up a bighead carp caught in Lake Calumet this week
Previously, the DNA of Asian carp had been found beyond the electrical blockade, but no actual fish. Biologists, environmentalists and Michigan state officials fear the torpedo-shaped fish, which can grow as big as 100 pounds, will starve out local species and decimate the Great Lakes’ $7 billion sport fishing industry.
The discovery of the fish meant “my worst nightmare had come true,” said Michigan Rep. Dave Camp, a Republican who introduced federal legislation in January to close two locks in the Chicago waterway that feeds into Lake Michigan. “We need to act as soon as possible.”
Mr. Camp’s measure has been stalled in subcommittee, but he said Thursday he will introduce a new measure next week calling for the creation of a new barrier. He declined to elaborate on the proposal.
The shipping industry says closing locks that grant access from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River would deal a blow to the local economy. Flood control in Chicago would also have to be re-engineered.
Illinois officials said it was too early to conclude that Asian carp had penetrated the existing barrier in numbers, because only one fish has been found.
“People can draw whatever conclusions they want. We have to do what we do based on science,” said Chris McCloud, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “What we have to do is figure out how that fish got into Lake Calumet.”
Mike White, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said that while it’s possible the fish slipped past the electrical barrier by itself, the carp may have been released intentionally by a local person as part of an ethnic celebration—a “cultural release,” as he described it.
On Thursday, anglers hired by the Illinois natural-resources department continued to fish Lake Calumet and officials discussed the possibility of placing a giant net in a river connecting Lake Calumet to Lake Michigan. On Wednesday, two commercial fishing boats took in more than 300 fish, and none were Asian carp, Mr. McCloud said.
Mississippi fish farmers imported the species during the 1970s to clean up waste at the bottom of catfish and retention ponds. When flooding hit the region in the 1990s, the fish escaped and began a 20-year voyage up the Mississippi River. Asian carp now make up more than 90% of the biomass in some Midwest rivers.
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox said this week that he would again take Illinois to court over the matter. The state twice tried to get the U.S. Supreme Court to order Illinois to close the Chicago locks after scientists found carp DNA beyond the barriers. The court declined both times, most recently in March.