Home

Screening: Stopping the Next Asian Carp

Pre-Import Screening

The Asian carp crisis was preventable.The invasive fish were originally imported in the 1970s by the federal government, and then used extensively in the southern United States for private aquaculture operations. There was no critical review performed, before the Asian Carp were imported, to first assess the potential risks associated with the species before the decision was made to import it. Once in the U.S. they were then purposefully released or escaped into the environment and rapidly established reproducing populations, migrated up the Mississippi River ba­sin, and are now threatening to enter Lake Michigan through an artificial connection between the Mississippi and Great Lakes basins.

Both the U.S. and Canada needs improved legislation and regulations to prevent the purposeful importation of invasive species and diseases that could damage the economy, the environment, human health and native wildlife.

Right now, the U.S. does not require that living organisms being proposed for import:

  • be checked for any harm they already cause in other countries;
  • be screened for potential invasiveness in the United States; or
  • be evaluated for the human and wildlife diseases they carry.

In the U.S. new legislation must empower the Fish and Wildlife Service to rapidly identify risky species before they are imported and give the FWS the authority to keep them out of the country, instead of having to react after they are here and the damage is done.

For more information:

The National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species sent a letter to Secretary Salazar in January 2011 on the need for improved screening legislation:
http://www.glu.org/en/system/files/necis-salazar-26jan2011.pdf

A factsheet on the need to screen animal imports:
http://www.glu.org/sites/default/files/Invasive%20factsheet_web.pdf

Legislation has been proposed to address the problem, find out more about "The Non-Native Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act":
http://www.necis.net/intro-to-invasive-species/invasive-species-solutions/federal/hr669/

 

  • ""