Watch video as invasive carp hits boater. Flying fish spell disaster for Great Lakes—looming ecological and economical problems as fish breach Chicago’s electrical barrier. Canoeists beware!

Source: Great Lakes United, Traverse City Eagle-Record

Ecological dooms day is threatening the Great Lakes. According to officials, Asian Carp have escaped the electric barrier that keeps them from entering Lake Michigan and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have detected Asian Carp DNA in water samples next to Chicago’s shoreline. And the really bad news: the state of Illinois is doing nothing about it.

Great Lake United, a unifying voice for ensuring a healthy and vibrant future for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River ecosystem, is insisting that the state “close the O'Brien, Chicago River and Wilmette locks until monitoring results show the waterways are completely clear of bighead and silver carp and that an electric barrier built to keep them out of Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes has not been breached.”

A lawsuit filled by Michigan’s Attorney General Mike Cox along with representative from Ohio, Wisconsin, New York and Minnestota demanded the immediate closure of two navigation locks in Chicago, but was rejected by U.S. Supreme Court on the account that the Chicago’s barge industry would lose millions.

So what’s the big deal? Well, Asian Carp consume an incredible amount of food and would compete with other local fish populations, virtually wiping them out along with the region’s 4.5 billion dollar fishing industry. Asian Carp have successfully taken over numerous rivers in the area including the Illinois, where Asian Carp make up 95 per cent of its biomass.

A species of Asian Carp, called the Silver Carp are easily startled and often jump out of the water creating a hazard to recreational boaters. And these fish are big! Some can grow up to 3 feet in length and weigh 100 pounds. It’s no wonder that many recreational boaters have been knocked out by these invaders—a threat that the Great Lakes multi-billion dollar recreational boating industry can’t afford.

Watch video, That will leave a mark, as Asian Carp flys into CNN news reporter.

Watch short 6-minute documentary on the Asian Carp and Chicago's Sanitary and Shipping Canal Fishing Barrier.

Five Great Lakes, two countries and one chance. Make the right decision. Let your voice be heard.

Please urge these ministers to offer Canada’s help in any effort to stop the invasive fish.

The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of the Environment
Tel: 819-997-1441
Fax: 819-953-0279
Jim.Prentice@ec.gc.ca

The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Telephone: (613) 992-9223
Fax: (613) 992-1974
Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Photo Credit: Indiana waterways