Asian Carp

[Slo-Ride]

LANSING, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Michigan's Attorney General has announced a new step in the battle to keep Asian carp out of Lake Michigan.

Mike Cox announced late Sunday night that his office is filing a federal lawsuit to close a shipping lock near Chicago.

That lock separates Lake Michigan from a stretch of water where the Asian carp have been found.

It's just another measure to prevent the aggressive fish from entering the Great Lakes.

Crews wrapped up repairs Sunday on an electric barrier in the Chicago shipping canal. It is back on-line Monday morning.

Cox sues to close lock | bottom, 0in, michigan - Top Stories - WWMT NEWSCHANNEL 3

[layoutshooter]

I hope it works. They NEED to close those locks. The Army Corps of Engineers has been fighting it, so has Chicago. Where is our President? He CLAIMS to be from a Great Lakes state, and CLAIMS to be all for protecting the environment. Why is he NOT there DEMANDING that protection?

[Slo-Ride]

What surprised me was the the Attorney was working on Sunday

Not sure how they are getting to Chicago waters?? I assume thru some river,,I haven't been able to find that out..

I'm also thinking if they found one, some already got thru and its to late now.???????

[layoutshooter]

They are in the Mississippi River. They are making their way up the Illinois River. That is a REAL mess there. There was a DNA hit but NONE of those carp were found when they did the fish kill last week. This IS what happens when man messes with things. They REVERSED the flow of one of the rivers near Chicago and built those canals. IF this care does get into the Lakes the disaster will be wide spread with global implications.

First the loss of a 7 BILLION dollar sport fishing industry and a million or so connected jobs, mostly mom and pop small businesses. Then, as time goes on, the Lake eco-system breaks down. Migrating waterfowl will have NO food sorces left as the crap destroy weed beds. It would have MAJOR impacts on the ability of waterfowl to survive their fall migration and greatly reduce their breeding in the spring due to the lack of food on the return trip. Most waterfowl MUST have their fat supplies up when they hit the nesting grounds since they do very little feeding up there. It could, many years down the road, cause a collapse of North American waterfowl populations.

[OntarioVanMan]

In Ontario they have been quite successful with trap gates for carp in wetland areas...1,000's of pounds a week are pulled out..

what they do is design the channel from the wetland to the open water to run thru the traps..they use aa crane to take out one trap and lower an empty one..

The wetlands have made a great recovery...

[Slo-Ride]

They are in the Mississippi River. They are making their way up the Illinois River. That is a REAL mess there. There was a DNA hit but NONE of those carp were found when they did the fish kill last week. This IS what happens when man messes with things. They REVERSED the flow of one of the rivers near Chicago and built those canals. IF this care does get into the Lakes the disaster will be wide spread with global implications.

First the loss of a 7 BILLION dollar sport fishing industry and a million or so connected jobs, mostly mom and pop small businesses. Then, as time goes on, the Lake eco-system breaks down. Migrating waterfowl will have NO food sorces left as the crap destroy weed beds. It would have MAJOR impacts on the ability of waterfowl to survive their fall migration and greatly reduce their breeding in the spring due to the lack of food on the return trip. Most waterfowl MUST have their fat supplies up when they hit the nesting grounds since they do very little feeding up there. It could, many years down the road, cause a collapse of North American waterfowl populations.

Nice,,are these canals that vital anymore that makes a risk like this even worth it?

[Slo-Ride]

In Ontario they have been quite successful with trap gates for carp in wetland areas...1,000's of pounds a week are pulled out..

what they do is design the channel from the wetland to the open water to run thru the traps..they use aa crane to take out one trap and lower an empty one..

The wetlands have made a great recovery...

OVM whats the impact if any on the native fish?

[layoutshooter]

No, they are no longer a vital part of the economy. There are other ways to move that freight now.

This is a different carp, OVM. In the Mississippi they can grow up to 100lbs and jump AT boats as they pass. In their native waters, which are cold and deep like the Great Lakes, they can get up to 300lbs. Many fishermen and pleasure boaters have been injured by these fish in the Mississippi. It is also not only the marsh grasses that they will destroy but also all the aquatic plants in the open water. They feed MAINLY on vegetation and small invertibrates, the MAIN building blocks in the food chain.

IF nothing is down and quick, we well could lose the Great Lakes eco-system. The Lakes contain about 1/5th of all of the world's fresh water. IF those carp get in not only will the cost to fish and wildlife be most likey devestating but the water quality will rapidly decline.

[OntarioVanMan]

not much...carp are bottom feeders and the traps are in muddy channels...regular fish are feet higher....they do sort thru and return real fish where possible...

The canal has a history but not vital..for transportation

Cootes Paradise is a large wetland at the western end of Hamilton Harbour, bordering the cities of Hamilton and Burlington, Ontario, Canada. It is owned and managed by the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG). Originally a shallow marsh providing habitat for a wide variety of lifeforms, the marsh went into decline beginning in the late 19th century through human overuse and the introduction of carp into Hamilton Harbour. By 1985, 85% of its plant cover was lost. In an effort to reverse this ecological decline, the RBG introduced Project Paradise in 1993, part of the Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan. The project focuses on removing sources of stress to the marsh by minimizing the number of spawning carp and the planting of native plants. There are five identified anthropogenic stresses: overgrazing by carp and Canada Geese, high nutrient levels, water turbidity, sediment accumulation, and the controlled water level in Lake Ontario. Project Paradise is one of the largest wetland rehabilitation projects in North America.

Controlled burns have also been conducted in an effort to restore some of the forest areas to their original Oak savanna ecosystem, a rare grouping of Carolinian plants and animals. Cootes Paradise is connected to Hamilton Harbour via the Desjardins Canal which was dug through Burlington Heights in the early 19th century in an effort to connect Dundas, Ontario with shipping on the Great Lakes. In 2000, the City of Hamilton constructed a 3 km recreational trail connecting Cootes Paradise to Pier 4 Park; this trail is also part of the Waterfront Trail system.

Also

Desjardins Canal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[layoutshooter]

The carp you are speaking of are shallow water fish, like 30ft and above. This NEW carp will wipe out the celery beds and other plants down as far as they go. NOTHING can stop them.

The other carp feed MAINLY in the marshes and are much easier to control. We should, however, be doing EVERYTHING in ou power to wipe out ALL carp in North America. They are a non-native envasive species that are doing MAJOR damage.

This new carp got into the Mississippi from catfish farms. They were put into the holding ponds to clear vegetation. They got out during the big floods in the late 1990's. In just those few short years they, on some stretches of the Mississippi, become the dominate fish species. Wiping out game fish and their breeding areas.

[greg334]

I don't see any issue, fish them, eat them and sell them.

There are already people doing just that, they are fishing them commercially to deplete the stock.

We are spending too much money on the cost to keeping them out. I say close the canals completely until some sort of scientific solution is found. More truck business.

[Slo-Ride]

Plug the canals then.
If they ain't contributing to any economy like they where intended too do, why go thru the cost of operating and maintaining them.
Sounds like a way for any Eco disaster to enter into the great lakes effecting everything,not just Mich

[OntarioVanMan]

I don't see any issue, fish them, eat them and sell them.

There are already people doing just that, they are fishing them commercially to deplete the stock.

We are spending too much money on the cost to keeping them out. I say close the canals completely until some sort of scientific solution is found. More truck business.

Eat carp? yuck...nasty butt ugly, boney, almost no good meat..yuck
Boat people eat carp..steam them and pick the meat from the bones...

Carp were introduced to North America by European's. Carp were, and still are, a mainstay of the European diet. In England they are classed as a game fish.

We USED to have huge carp killing contests on the Lake Erie marhes. Do-gooders put a stop to those. They used to help keep the carp populations down somewhat.

[layoutshooter]

The problem Greg, is that they will wipe out ALL of the other fish if allowed to do so. They have NO predator. They need to close those locks as you say. That is CHEAP to do. IF those carp get into the Great Lakes Michigan's economy will be hurt MORE than any other of the economies on the Lakes. We have, by far, the MOST to lose. The cost of allowing this to occur is FAR greater than the cost of keeping them out.

I want to know where all the so-called enviromentalists are? LIke Greenpeace and PETA. This could be one of the biggest man-made eco-system collapses ever and NONE of these groups are doing or saying ANYTHING!!

Just close the locks, then figure out a way to wipe them out. Nothing that they have tried so far to kill them off has worked.

[Slo-Ride]

LOL OVM,they are a nasty looking fish
Ive never eaten em but ppl I know that do say there fine prepared & cooked properly

Im sticking to pan fish as my fav seafood