Michigan All In On Fighting Invasive Asian Carp
Michigan and Illinois working together to try and keep the invasive Asian Carp from getting into Lake Michigan.
Invasive Asian Carp that were found in the Mississippi River have made their up river all the way to Illinois. These same rivers are connected to Lake Michigan.
If these Asian Carp get into Lake Michigan, it could be devastating to all of the other fish that are currently in the lake.
According to FOX 17, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have partnered with both Michigan and Illinois on a nearly $860 million deal to stop these invasive fish from entering the Great Lakes.
There is a dam just outside of Joliet, Ill. where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will install fish repelling mechanisms at the Brandon Road Lock to keep the already carp infested Illinois River from entering Lake Michigan.
It is crucial that this gets done because if these Asian Carp get into Lake Michigan, there will be no stopping them from destroying the entire Great Lakes system.
Plankton are the foundation of food for the existing species that already live in the Great Lakes. Asian Carp are highly aggressive and it is very easy for them to dominate other fish species since they have no known predators.
Asian Carp can grow up to four feet long and weigh all the way up to 100 pounds. That is a big fish, and fish that size take a lot of plankton to grow but these fish grow in size and multiply very fast.
This type of carp have been known to injure people who are just enjoying the river. These fish spook very easily and jump out of the water and land on people in boats injuring them. Imagine what 50 to 100 pounds of fish can do to a person when the fish are falling on them while kayaking or swimming.
Asian Carp would dismantle the $7 billion fish industry of the Great Lakes at the same time changing how boaters, anglers and tourists use the water system.
This species of carp is not just an environmental problem for the Great Lakes but could cause an economic problem for the all the states that surround the water system.
Especially for us Michiganders who love Lake Michigan, let's hope that Michigan and Illinois can get Asian Carp problem solved. The entire Great Lakes depends on it.