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Asian carp in Canada

The Asian carp threaten binational waters. Canadians, it is time to get involved in the fight to stop this invader. 

Since the 1970s several species of invasive Asian carp have been making their way north up the Mississippi River and ultimately into the Chicago area. At Chicago there are several diversions that connect the Mississippi River basin directly to Lake Michigan (via what is now called the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal). These very large, rapidly reproducing fish were brought from Asian countries by southern state and federal agencies and fish farmers to control algae. But during flooding they escaped into the Mississippi River basin. They are now at the doorway to the Great Lakes and are poised to take over and dominate the Great Lakes fishery. Two Asian carp species—the silver and bighead—now have taken up 90% of the biomass in some areas of infested rivers in the Mississippi basin.

These huge fish are unlike any species we currently have in the Great Lakes. They feed at the bottom of the food chain by filtering out all the tiny organisms that are the food for small fish. They grow rapidly so that at the end of their first year they can weigh 20 pounds and unlike Great Lakes native fish that spawn once a year, the Silver and Bighead carp spawn several times a year. Recent research by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans has predicted that once in Lake Michigan, the fast-swimming silver carp, by the end of their first year, may invade most of Lake Michigan’s nearshore habitats. By year two, the silver carp will have moved into all of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. This is indeed a scary prospect for anyone who cares about the Great Lakes fishery.
 
What is being done? What can be done? There are many US government agencies that are trying to figure out ways to control the spread of these invasive fish. The Army Corps of Engineers has built three electric barriers, but recent DNA evidence shows that the fish have been able to pass the barriers. The Corps has even released a report that shows that young fish can swim through the electric barriers. Twice, connecting channels have been poisoned in the hopes of stopping the carp from getting into Lake Michigan. But these are all stop gap measures. What really needs to happen is for all the hydrological connections to be closed off permanently.
 
Several Great Lakes states have asked the courts to intervene and force the closure of the connections. The courts so far have refused to engage saying they hope the agencies will figure out how to solve the problem. But the Corps wants to “study” the problem for 5 more years with millions of dollars spent on researching the problems. The Corps has also held hearings in the United States to gain public input, but not on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes.
 
What are the Ontario and Canadian governments doing about this serious threat to the Great Lakes? Both governments have provided logistical assistance to the US agencies but the reality is that the Canadian public has not spoken out on the issue. Are Canadians being too polite? Maybe so. It is time for Canadians to speak up, and loudly, in support of hydrologically separating the Mississippi basin from the Great Lakes. We are requesting that both the Ontario and Canadian governments hold public hearings on the Canadian side of the Great Lakes on the threat that Asian carp pose to our part of the Great Lakes. All US government agencies dealing with the carp should be invited to attend to hear Canadian concerns. These are bi-national waters, and the US decision-makers have obligations to consider Canadian interests and help protect Canadian waters from these invasive species.
 

What can you do to get involved?

 

Take action now by signing this petition

Canadians, go to www.glu.org/asiancarppetition2011 and sign the posted petition to Ontario’s Premier Dalton McGuinty and to Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper calling for hydrological separation. Let your voice be heard or it may be too late to stop these huge invasive fish. Take action today, and be the generation that stood up and protected the Great Lakes, not the one that let them fall to these invaders. Your grandchildren will thank you. It is not too late.
  

More resources

Access material from the July, 2011 Webinar entitled "What to do about the Asian carp in Canada?" featuring presenters Mary Muter of the Sierra Club - Ontario (Great Lakes Section) and Hugh Wilkins of Ecojustice. 

 

 

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