Asian Carp Pose Threat to All Great Lakes

If they gain entrance, Asian carp could find enough food and breeding areas to infest all five Great Lakes within 20 years, according to a recent risk analysis by scientists from the United States and Canada.

Additionally, authors of the report released by Canada’s Fisheries and Oceans Ministry suggested that just 10 mature females and even fewer males would be enough to establish a population within the Great Lakes. Previously, many theorized that at least hundreds of fish would be required.

“Ever since these non-native fish first escaped and began to breed prolifically in the rivers of the Midwest, the questions everyone has been asking are: ‘Can a breeding population survive in the Great Lakes and would it be a significant problem if they did?” Marcia McNutt, director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), said in a released statement.

“Now we know the answers and, unfortunately, they are ‘yes’ and ‘yes.’”

No surprisingly, scientists still believe that the manmade connection between Lake Michigan and the Illinois River watershed is the most likely pathway for entry, an electric barrier notwithstanding.

But state and federal researchers recently reported that they have found DNA from Asian carp in Lake Erie,  suggesting that rivers and wetlands connected to that fishery might provide entrance as well.

Four samples from Sandusky Bay in Ohio waters tested positive for bighead carp, while two samples from north Maumee Bay in Michigan waters were positive for silver carp.

“The results from these water samples are certainly concerning, as this marks the first time Asian carp DNA has been detected in water samples from Lake Erie or any of the Michigan waters intensively surveyed for the presence of invasive carp,” said Jim Dexter, fisheries chief for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

“Protecting the Great Lakes from the threat of Asian carp is critical to the health of our sport and commercial fisheries and to the quality of life in Michigan.”

The international analysis, meanwhile, projects carp would find Erie, Huron, and Michigan most to their liking, while infestation of Ontario and Superior would take longer.

(Reprinted from B.A.S.S. Times)

More DNA Evidence Raises Odds That Carp Have Invaded Great Lakes

More damning evidence has just been revealed that Asian carp might already have invaded Lake Michigan via a manmade connection to the Mississippi River basin and it’s only a matter of time until numbers reach critical mass, spawning occurs, and we start seeing huge numbers of the prolific exotics.

That’s exactly what happened with snakeheads in the Potomac River. For several years, anglers caught just enough of them to remind us that they were there. Then someone found a mass of them spawning in a creek, and the population seemed to explode almost overnight.

In the case of Asian carp and Lake Michigan, researchers report that 17 of 171 samples taken from the North Shore Channel tested positive for silver carp DNA. Additionally, 17 of 57 from the Chicago River also proved positive for the genetic material.

Meanwhile, the Corps still is studying the situation.

"Asian carp are knocking at the front door of the Great Lakes, and we cannot afford to wait on a federal government that fails to act,” said Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.

Read more here.

Activist Angler Goes on the Road

I try my best to post at least five days a week at Activist Angler.

I do so because so much is happening these days regarding recreational fishing, and I believe that knowledge is power. The more we know about what is going on, the better that we can deal with it, especially in matters related to access and invasive species.

But I’m heading on the road for three weeks or so, starting Oct. 3. For at least the first week, I won’t be able to post much, as I fish in eastern Arkansas. I’ll be checking out Lake Chicot, White River National Wildlife Refuge, and Lakes Austell and Dunn at Village Creek State Park.

From there, I’ll head down to Lake Eufaula on the Alabama/Georgia border.

Ultimate destination is Florida, where I’ll fish several lakes, including Okeechobee, as well as attend the annual Saltwater Summit, sponsored by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

As I am able, I’ll post about my fishing success and what I learn from those who know more than I.

I really appreciate the readers of this website, and hope that you will check in from time to time to see if anything new has been posted. By Oct. 24 or 25, I should be back in the office and posting regularly again. 

Zebra Mussels Cause Truckload of Trouble for Tourist

Minnesota conservation officers made a remarkable discovery recently in the Duluth area --- a shopping cart covered in zebra mussels resting in the back of a pickup truck.

The owner of the truck thought that he had stumbled upon an interesting souvenir to take back home to North Dakota. He found out otherwise.

Read the story here.

Lake Erie Also at Risk for Asian Carp Invasion

Environment Report has produced a five-part series on Asian carp.

Part 3 deals with an alternative pathway for Asian carp to enter the Great Lakes. Most concern focuses on the canal connection between the Mississippi River basin and Lake Michigan near Chicago.

But to the east, in Indiana, Lake Erie is vulnerable.

Read about the danger here.