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Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Just got some good news in my Cannonball Gazete newspaper from the Michigan Charter Boat Association (MCBA) about the Bighead carp.
Under pressure from members of Congress, the army Corps of Engineers has agreed to pay for a new electric fense to stop gluttonus Asian Carp from swimming into Lake Michigan.
Corps officials in Chicago have nearly completed designing a more permanent barrier to replace electrical cables that were strung across the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal two years ago and are starting to wear out.
Officials in the Corps innitially decided last month to cut $4.4 million needed to complete the job, citing a need to pay for other projects. But after an angry flurry of telephone call and letters from Great Lakes lawmakers, the corps top brass assured them Friday there will be enough money to build the fish fense this summer.
It's rare to see the entire delegation so strongly united on a project, "said U.S. Rep Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), who represents the area where the new barrier will be built. We can't let this species get into the Great Lakes."
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| Great to see the project goibg ahead. This fish is going to be a problem anywhere it gets a chance to establish. |
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Member
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Location: Sth/side Chicago | I thought the problem on the S&S canal was Silver not Bighead carp? Silver's are the giants that leap into your boat and feeds like a filter, screening certain plankton (small algae and microscopic animals) from the water which is what the concern on the great lakes is. Are both of these fish a concern? I just did a little quick research and I guess the bighead feeds just like the silver...: http://www.iisgcp.org/resrch/br/cur/res0401.htm |
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Location: Midland, MI 48642 | Sure hope they stop this one. Glad something is being done. |
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Member
Posts: 2680
Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Muskie.
Yup, both would be tragic news if either escaped into the Great Lakes. Simply used the (BigHead) monicur on the post title, as most people recognize it versus the Silver Carp name.
Edited by walleye express 3/21/2004 9:15 AM
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| Here is the rub... According to the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, the corps got their money for the barrier by zeroing out the dollars for sea lamprey control in the Great Lakes.
And yes, the bighead and the silver are both threats. The bighead doesn't jump much, but they have similar diets and somewhat similar habits. We're not really sure what will happen if the carp make it to the great lakes. But we don't want to find out. There is at least a significant chance they will do major harm. There is some chance that the fish will not make it in large numbers there, but I wouldn't hold my breath. |
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Member
Posts: 2680
Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | Carptracker.
I waste enough time during a charter taking off Sheepsheads, catfish, white bass, white perch, pike, even Bowfins. I'd really dislike having and dealing with a 100 pound google eyed carp on the line. 
And at this point I don't care where they got the funding for the fense, just glad they did. 
Edited by walleye express 3/20/2004 5:57 PM
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Member
Posts: 67
Location: Sth/side Chicago | Thanks for the reply Dan and Carptracker.. |
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BigHead Asian Carp Denied Parole.