The price of progress
Fishing expeditions along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Calumet Sag Channel this month netted exactly one Asian carp, the voracious invasive fish officials fear could devastate the Great Lakes’ $7 billion commercial fishing industry. A $3 million dollar operation in a state already plagued by economic downturn has people wondering, but officials say that this is the right maneuver to save money and Michigan fishing in the long run. Aside from tracking Asian carp, the expedition were also on the lookout for Snakeheads and Weatherfish, other foreign species threatening to disrupt the delicate great lakes ecosystem. Many of these species are released into the wild by pet owners when they become too large or aggressive to care for in household aquariums.
Although neither of these species were found in the canal, biologists did find several round gobies, small fish that cause big problems. These gobies, which are only about three to five inches long are believed to be the cause of the extinction of three native species in the great lakes: the mottled sculpin, logperch and greenside darter. The whole expedition was semi-good news since not all of the exotic species were found, but there is still a great deal of concern with the future of great lakes fishing.
Officials initiated the fish kill by dumping the liquid toxin rotenone over a six-mile stretch of the shipping canal, coinciding with the temporary disabling of an underwater electric barrier erected to keep Asian carp from advancing north toward Lake Michigan.
Biologists said that 99 percent of the species were common carp or other native species that would not threaten the ecosystem. The fish kills are a hefty price to pay to stop the advancement of the Asian carp, and hope to limit the number of times this action is carried out, but know that it may need to be done again. Many sport fish were shocked and removed from the canal before the poisoning including largemouth bass, bluegill, and catfish. Members of congress have pushed for emergency action to prevent the spread of Asian carp to the Great Lakes.
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