Environmentally Friendly Solution Available to Asian Carp in Great Lakes?
Posted by lindseyshoe
During my visit a few months ago to South Padre Island a “lizard fish” was caught (and released) during our Eco-tour. This type of fish is usually not seen in the waters off the Texas coast, but a number of environmental factors have caused it to be there. What is causing Asian carp to appear in the Great Lakes region-and more importantly, how can it be stopped without harming the environment?
The Great Lakes Dilemma:
In addition to recreation, the Great Lakes are home to a $7 billion fishing industry. Bighead and Silver Carp, both native to Asia, began escaping from fishponds in the Deep South in the 1970s. They’ve already made their made way to the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers and wiped out some native species of fish. Now they’re heading for the Great Lakes.
Although no carp have been found above the barrier, biologists have detected carp DNA in numerous spots beyond the barrier and even within the lakes.
Carp can reach 100 lbs. and grow to up to four feet long. Since they eat 40 percent of their weight in plankton daily, they could starve out the smaller prey fish that salmon and whitehead depend on, and eventually wipe out the fish of the Great Lakes from the bottom of the food chain up.
What Many Environmentalists are Asking For:
Many want to sever the connection between the Lake Michigan and Mississippi River basin. Engineers in Chicago created this link over a hundred years ago. In addition, many are asking that the two navigational locks in Chicago waterways that could provide carp with an entry to the Great Lakes be closed.
What the Obama Administration is Proposing:
The federal government has created a plan that will attempt to thwart the entry of carp in the Great Lakes. The proposal comes with a price tag of $78.5 million and many argue that the plan doesn’t do enough. The proposal:
- Offers to conduct a long-range study of the idea of closing the link
- Refuses to close the locks, but offers to open them less often
- Strengthens an electric barrier meant to block the carp
- Calls for using sound, strobes, and bubble walls to deter carp
- Calls for nets or poisons to deal with carp that make it through barriers
Joel Brammeier, president of the environmental group Alliance for the Great Lakes, responded, “We’re spending close to $80 million just for a short-term deterrent. We need to stop pushing money toward temporary solutions and get everyone on track toward investing in one that works for good-and that means absolute physical separation.”
The hard reality:
Cutting off the ties between the Great Lakes and Mississippi means reconfiguring almost seventy miles of rivers and canals, a huge undertaking that would take a long time and a lot of money. It is vehemently opposed by barge operators who depend on moving millions of commodities through the Chicago locks each year.
Would the carp thrive or even survive in the Great Lakes?
Scientists have differing opinions here. The Great Lakes are colder, deeper, and different than rivers, but many say the risk to the Great Lakes fishing industry and the native species is just too great to take a chance.
David Lodge, University of Notre Dame biologist, says, “None of us know for certain what their impact would be. There’s only one way to find out, and I don’t think any of us want that.”
What are your thoughts on this environmental dilemma? What do you think would be an Eco-friendly resolution or could save money AND the environment?
They spent four million dollars looking for the Asian carp near Lake Michigan and only found one, plus some DNA. I suggest that they give fisherman maybe $100 for each Asian Carp and the problem will be gone.