The Vice-President of the Lake Huron Fishing club says the Great Lakes face an imminent threat from yet another invasive species – Asian Carp.
Al Wilkins say these are foreign species of carp, brought into North America in the 1970’s for aquaculture purposes.
Some escaped into the Mississippi River with a devastating effect.
He says the carp are extremely prolific and have now virtually taken over the river making up 90 percent of the its biomass.
Over the years the fish been working their way up the Mississippi and have now reached the Chicago sanitary and shipping canal – the man-made connection between the river and Lake Michigan – and are poised to enter the Great Lakes.
Wilkins says all that’s holding the fish back from entering the lake is an electrical barrier which is designed to discourage fish from crossing it.
He says he’s not optimistic about this barrier working.
In the past it has not been found to be entirely effective.
In fact, Wilkins says there is forensic evidence that some of the invasive carp may already have passed the barrier and entered Lake Michigan.
The precise effect of these carp on the great lakes ecosystem is not certain but Wilkins says, if the Mississippi River experience is any example, it could be totally devastating.
Wilkins believes not enough emphasis has been placed on the potential danger of these carp by either the United States or Canada.
He says the only real solution is to break the existing connection between the Mississippi and Lake Michigan but admits there is considerable business and political pressure not to let that happen.
He says, at the moment, the only action possible for groups such as the Lake Huron Fishing Club and other interested citizens, is to make politicians at every level aware of the potential danger and keep pressure on them to do something.
The Fishing Club has an open meeting this Thursday, May 13th, with a presentation on the “Asian Carp Invasion. “
The meeting is at the Underwood Community Centre starting at 7:30 PM.
The speaker will be Jason Barnucz an Asian Carp specialist with the the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Everyone is welcome to attend.