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| Message Subject: Asian Carp get the Chair. | |||
walleye express |
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 Member Posts: 2680 Location: Essexville, MI./Saginaw Bay. | ELECTRICAL “ASIAN CARP” BARRIER ON CHICAGO CANAL PASSES FINAL LEGISLATIVE HURDLE Great Lakes Congressional delegation praised for perseverance in seeking full authorization for critical invasive species defense ANN ARBOR, MI—The Great Lakes Fishery Commission lauded today’s enactment of legislation that fully authorizes the electrical dispersal barrier on the Chicago Sanitary Ship Canal. The authorization, contained in the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA), paves the way for the completion of the essential invasive species barrier. The barrier—whose completion was largely motivated by the migration of Asian carp toward the Great Lakes—is designed to keep invasive species from spreading between the Great Lakes and Mississippi watersheds. Enactment of WRDA, which came in the form of a presidential veto override, was the last remaining legal hurdle for the barrier, though funding from Congress will be required to complete the project. “The enactment of WRDA has been long in coming and is outstanding news for the Great Lakes,” said Gerry Barnhart, vice-chair of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. “A temporary electrical barrier was activated on the canal in 2002 to block the migration of fish, but the barrier has passed its expected life and is failing. This beleaguered barrier is currently the only thing standing between the Asian carp and Lake Michigan. A permanent, federally funded and operated barrier is desperately needed to replace the ailing structure. With WRDA now law, we have the authority to construct a strong, permanent barrier system ahead of the arrival of Asian carp.” The Great Lakes are connected to the Mississippi River through the Illinois Waterway System, which includes the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a man-made corridor constructed to manage waste water and to serve vessel traffic. The canal artificially connects the two watersheds and serves as a pathway for unwanted invasive species. It is believed that round goby and zebra mussels—two particularly noxious invaders—made their way into the Mississippi system from the Great Lakes through the canal. Asian carp, as they continue their drive northward, have access to the Great Lakes through the canal. “Asian carp must absolutely be kept out of the Great Lakes,” said David Ullrich, a member of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. “The carp are well-suited to the Great Lakes environment, are voracious eaters, and reproduce in massive numbers. Their impact on the Mississippi River, as they migrated northward, has been devastating. Biologists and policy-makers alike are deeply concerned that Asian carp could have a similarly destructive impact on the lakes, the environment, and the economy.” Barnhart added: “The Great Lakes Fishery Commission is grateful to the Congressional delegation—in both chambers and from both parties—for their dogged interest in this project. Many people, both inside and outside of government—have worked very hard to support and promote the dispersal barrier. The commission particularly appreciates the hard work of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force and Senator Richard Durbin and Representative Judy Biggert, both of Illinois, who introduced the stand-alone legislation that ultimately appeared in WRDA.” Specifically, the barrier provisions of WRDA: • Authorize the experimental barrier to be upgraded and made permanent; • Authorize the construction of a second, permanent barrier; • Mandate operations and maintenance of the barrier project by the federal government (as opposed to the State of Illinois); • Provide credits to states which contributed to the barrier project in the past; • Authorize study about biological separation; and • Consolidate the experimental barrier and the to-be-completed permanent barrier into a single federal project. The barrier project is still dependent on funding. Currently, Congress is discussing whether to provide $7.65 million, as requested by the president and appropriated by the House, or to provide $3.75 million, as provided by the Senate. Reconciliation of the House and Senate appropriations are expected in the coming days. In addition to the barrier project, WRDA also includes other Great Lakes-related reauthorizations including: • The Great Lakes Fishery & Ecosystem Restoration program • The Great Lakes Remedial Action Plans & Sediment Remediation • The Great Lakes Tributary Model • The John Glenn Great Lakes Basin program The Great Lakes Fishery Commission is an international organization established by the United States and Canada through the 1954 Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries. The commission has the responsibility to coordinate fisheries research, control the invasive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes, and facilitate implementation of A Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries, a provincial, state, and tribal fisheries management agreement. | ||
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| muskynightmare |
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Member Posts: 120 Location: Appleton, WI | I'm likeing a bounty on all carp. Bowfished to the point of extinction. | ||
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| bradley894 |
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Member Posts: 591 Location: in the boat off the east shore somewhere | ok boys time to put a home made walk threws on your big sparkly 50k boat.. and a front brush guard.. cant wait to see the new rigs with cast iron frames and steel mesh windshiels with a sheet of plexyglass behind .. not good.. 50mph and a 30 lb flying carp torpeedo comming at your head on the bay of green bay.. heck with the locks open baggo too.. nice... i give it a year and we will have a sighting on lake michigan. and in onother two baggo. that will cut back the jet ski traffic.. oh boy... | ||
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| Mark Komo |
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Member Posts: 1195 Location: Orland Park, IL | Yep, its real bad. Was fishing down by Chilli and Lacon and they are thick and active. As you move north, less so. But non the less there. One took a header into the kicker last week. Hurt bad. Just seen belly and fins in the wake. Another one broke the surface and took out a buddies leadcore setup, pole, reel, rod holder and all. There was a guy from some fancy hotel in milwaukee (was in the sentinel, I think) who cooked em up 5 ways and just loved it. Said the flesh was firm, flakey and white. Partner was jigging and had a rip. He comes up with a scale the size of a 1/2 dollar. You get hit by a 30lb pounder and your having a good day. Do a search and you will find a video out there. Rough. Rumor has it, a garbage can lid (not to be confused with Green Bay Jumbo Sheepshead) helps. Funny thing though, there aren't many alternatives. I heard that 60% of the rivers' biomass was asian carp. Seen some flyers. One alternative, and some people feel this way, is to clean up the river once and for all via poisoning. Start fresh. Now thats quite extreme, but its out there. Seen the DNR lady last year, and was checking for gobbies. Gobbies!!!! In the Illinois river!!!. When asked about the Aisan, she just shook her head. And not the good shake. Last spring, I think, there was a pretty good kill of fish near Peru. Smell was pretty tough and there were just tons of em dead in there. Someone mentioned there was a good 5ft of dead fish on the bottom. All conjecture of course, cannot confirm that last comment. It was pretty bad. | ||
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| sworrall |
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Location: Rhinelander | M-komo, I also have heard that Asian Carp are excellent table fare and REALLY good canned, but as you siad that would be a pretty small trade off if they get into the Great Lakes in any numbers. Nasty critters. I saw a video at the Madison Fishing Expo last year showing a crew shooting them in the air using bows. Shotguns would be fun, too. | ||
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| Mark Komo |
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Member Posts: 1195 Location: Orland Park, IL | Yep, that does sound like fun. I went catfishing with Tim Scott, one of the top, if not not THE top catfish guide on the Illinois River. Great, great guy. He fishes for as long as you can. I gave up after 9 hours. He wanted to do a few more. Anyway he runs this evinrude jet (I think) on a huge 18 foot jon. This thing drafts like 8 inches or some ungodly like figure. He rips the shallow water when flying upriver. Like a couple of feet from the shore. Those asian carp just hate it, and they start to do their dance. Very cool to see (although the 6yo thinks the big coal shovel for unloading barges is cooler...but I digress). Now that would be a challenge with a bow or shotgun. Ed runs the illinoisbowfishing site. He knows his poop. I gonna try to find that sentinel link. Edited by M_komo 11/14/2007 9:25 PM | ||
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