The environmental psychodrama surrounding the discovery of Chronic Wasting Disease in Wisconsin in 2002 weighs heavily on the minds of government agencies and outdoor enthusiasts alike. But there is a new elephant stomping its way into our ecological living room.
Whereas CWD comes to us in the form of a prion gone mad, the latest threat to our outdoor heritage eats like a pig at a slop trough, breeds almost year round and flings its body (up to 100 pounds) high in the air like an Olympic pole-vaulter.
The Asian carp comes to us courtesy of fish farmers in the Deep South where a flood occurrence in the 1970s provided an avenue of escape to virtually every waterway in the Midwest.
The problem makes other invasions of the biosphere - zebra mussels, garlic mustard, oak wilt, Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia, perhaps even CWD - appear like a mild case of the flu. Fish biologists have expressed concerns about the beast for years as the carp have traveled relentlessly north throughout the Mississippi River watershed.
Asian carp have seriously injured boaters. Apparently excited by propeller action from water craft, large numbers of the fish may jump spontaneously into the air at one time. The carp are also a threat to aquatic plants needed by other species, posing a threat to game fish populations.
The problem has taken on a sense of urgency of late because of the carp's advance on tributaries leading to Lake Michigan and, potentially, the entire Great Lakes region.
"Asian carp are an invasive species and a great threat to Wisconsin," DNR Secretary Matt Frank said. "The fish are present in the (Chicago Sanitary and) Ship Canal which provides direct access to Lake Michigan and Wisconsin inland waters."
Michigan recently filed a lawsuit, supported by several Midwestern states including Wisconsin, attempting to force Illinois authorities to close locks and dams in and around Chicago to keep the carp from advancing into Lake Michigan. At present, an electric barrier operated by the U.S. Corps of Engineers offers the last line of defense against the invader. Fisheries experts around the Midwest would like to see another barrier installed.
A Rapid Response Team including biologists from Wisconsin and other Midwestern states traveled to the area in December when the Corps of Engineers shut down the electric barrier for maintenance. The workers treated the waterway with Rotenone, a chemical frequently use to remove undesirable fish from a body of water.
According to Illinois DNR Communications Manager Chris McCloud, the effort was a success in that no carp were believed to pass through the barrier while the repairs were being made. The team used a neutralizing agent downstream to prevent collateral damage to other aquatic life.
While no carp have been discovered in Lake Michigan, Environmental DNA from the fish has been discovered upriver from the barrier. The EDNA process refers to a method developed by scientists at Notre Dame University.
Not everyone worries about the spread of this bony, silver-colored invader, however. Instead, they view the carp as a potential source of nutrition - and income.
According to a recent report in the Chicago Tribune, food processor Schaefer Fisheries is a supplier of 12 million pounds of carp to outlets in the United States and abroad. In addition to exporting carp to Asia, Canada and Europe, ethnic neighborhoods in the Chicago area keep the company's business flourishing.
In an effort to expand its market even further, the company engaged Illinois state lawmakers in a discussion to make carp a large part of the diet of prisoners incarcerated in the state's prisons. They declined.
The Asian carp, of which there are four kinds, differ from the ones found in area waters in southwestern Wisconsin. While a threat to the ecosystem, carp found in Yellowstone Lake in Lafayette County, for example, do not reproduce quite as prolifically as the Asian species, nor do they exhibit the jumping phenomenon that endangers boaters.
The Lafayette County Sportsman's Alliance sponsors a carp removal program that has proven successful since its inception 12 years ago. According to fish biologist Bradd Sims, the number of carp netted each year continues to decline, resulting in greater numbers of desirable species in the lake and a healthier lake bottom.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
Whereas CWD comes to us in the form of a prion gone mad, the latest threat to our outdoor heritage eats like a pig at a slop trough, breeds almost year round and flings its body (up to 100 pounds) high in the air like an Olympic pole-vaulter.
The Asian carp comes to us courtesy of fish farmers in the Deep South where a flood occurrence in the 1970s provided an avenue of escape to virtually every waterway in the Midwest.
The problem makes other invasions of the biosphere - zebra mussels, garlic mustard, oak wilt, Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia, perhaps even CWD - appear like a mild case of the flu. Fish biologists have expressed concerns about the beast for years as the carp have traveled relentlessly north throughout the Mississippi River watershed.
Asian carp have seriously injured boaters. Apparently excited by propeller action from water craft, large numbers of the fish may jump spontaneously into the air at one time. The carp are also a threat to aquatic plants needed by other species, posing a threat to game fish populations.
The problem has taken on a sense of urgency of late because of the carp's advance on tributaries leading to Lake Michigan and, potentially, the entire Great Lakes region.
"Asian carp are an invasive species and a great threat to Wisconsin," DNR Secretary Matt Frank said. "The fish are present in the (Chicago Sanitary and) Ship Canal which provides direct access to Lake Michigan and Wisconsin inland waters."
Michigan recently filed a lawsuit, supported by several Midwestern states including Wisconsin, attempting to force Illinois authorities to close locks and dams in and around Chicago to keep the carp from advancing into Lake Michigan. At present, an electric barrier operated by the U.S. Corps of Engineers offers the last line of defense against the invader. Fisheries experts around the Midwest would like to see another barrier installed.
A Rapid Response Team including biologists from Wisconsin and other Midwestern states traveled to the area in December when the Corps of Engineers shut down the electric barrier for maintenance. The workers treated the waterway with Rotenone, a chemical frequently use to remove undesirable fish from a body of water.
According to Illinois DNR Communications Manager Chris McCloud, the effort was a success in that no carp were believed to pass through the barrier while the repairs were being made. The team used a neutralizing agent downstream to prevent collateral damage to other aquatic life.
While no carp have been discovered in Lake Michigan, Environmental DNA from the fish has been discovered upriver from the barrier. The EDNA process refers to a method developed by scientists at Notre Dame University.
Not everyone worries about the spread of this bony, silver-colored invader, however. Instead, they view the carp as a potential source of nutrition - and income.
According to a recent report in the Chicago Tribune, food processor Schaefer Fisheries is a supplier of 12 million pounds of carp to outlets in the United States and abroad. In addition to exporting carp to Asia, Canada and Europe, ethnic neighborhoods in the Chicago area keep the company's business flourishing.
In an effort to expand its market even further, the company engaged Illinois state lawmakers in a discussion to make carp a large part of the diet of prisoners incarcerated in the state's prisons. They declined.
The Asian carp, of which there are four kinds, differ from the ones found in area waters in southwestern Wisconsin. While a threat to the ecosystem, carp found in Yellowstone Lake in Lafayette County, for example, do not reproduce quite as prolifically as the Asian species, nor do they exhibit the jumping phenomenon that endangers boaters.
The Lafayette County Sportsman's Alliance sponsors a carp removal program that has proven successful since its inception 12 years ago. According to fish biologist Bradd Sims, the number of carp netted each year continues to decline, resulting in greater numbers of desirable species in the lake and a healthier lake bottom.
- Lee Fahrney is the Monroe Times outdoors writer. He can be reached at (608) 967-2208 or at fiveoaks@mhtc.net.
