Carp!

[hemichemi]

http://dnr.state.il.us/pubaffairs/2010/ ... p_June.pdf

Bighead Asian Carp Found in Chicago Area Waterway System

The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) announced today that one Bighead Asian carp
has been found in Lake Calumet along the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). This is the first
physical specimen that has been found in the CAWS above the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Electric
Barrier System.

RCC agencies will enact immediate measures to remove any additional Asian carp found during sampling
efforts, including but not limited to electrofishing and netting.

“We set out on a fact finding mission and we have found what we were looking for,” said John Rogner,
Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). “This is important evidence
and the more information we have about where Asian carp are, the better chance we have of keeping
them out of the Great Lakes.”

The Bighead carp was found in Lake Calumet which sits between T. J. O’Brien Lock and Dam and Lake
Michigan. The find was made in the northwest corner of the lake near Harborside Golf Course,
approximately six miles downstream of Lake Michigan by a commercial fisherman contracted by the
Illinois DNR during routine sampling efforts in the area. The fish was measured to be 34.6 inches long
and weighed 19.6 pounds.

This capture represents the first Asian carp discovered above the electric barrier system and just the
second in the Chicago Area Waterway System.

The first Asian carp was found on December 3 in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) below the
electric barrier system and just above the Lockport Lock and Dam.

Intensive sampling operations on the CAWS by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service first began on February 17 in an attempt to locate either Silver or Bighead Asian
carp above the Electric Fish Barrier System.

Previous sampling actions throughout the last four months above the barrier did not produce any Silver
or Bighead carp.

Additional sampling actions on Lake Calumet above T.J O’Brien Lock and Dam will include IDNR and U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service fishery biologists supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and
commercial fishermen. Commercial fishing nets and electrofishing gear will continue to be used in Lake
Calumet and additional resources will be deployed to begin sampling up the Calumet River leading to
Lake Michigan. Electrofishing and sampling efforts in Lake Calumet and the Calumet River will continue
throughout the next several weeks.

During these activities every effort will be made to minimize the impact to waterway users and provide
as much advanced notice of any possible waterway restrictions.

“This issue is an extremely high priority for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and we will continue to
work directly with our partners and stakeholders to implement the Asian Carp Control Strategy
Framework using all available tools and techniques,” said Mike Weimer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Assistant Regional Director of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Program. “We remain firmly committed
to achieving our collective goal of preventing Asian carp from becoming established in Great Lakes
waters.”

The sampling effort is an important and continued effort in the Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework,
which includes both short and long term actions to stop the migration of Asian carp into the Great Lakes.

Sampling and monitoring will also continue at five fixed sampling stations throughout the Chicago Area
Waterway System as detailed in the RCC’s Sampling and Monitoring plan to search for Asian carp.
Commercial fishing operations will also continue to remove Silver or Bighead carp in downstate waters
where the fish are known to be present.

“The Army Corps of Engineers will continue to operate the locks and dams in the Chicago Area
Waterway System for Congressionally authorized purposes of navigation, water diversion, and flood
control. We will continue to support fish suppression activities by modifying existing structures such as
locks as requested by other agencies to support this common goal,” said Colonel Vincent Quarles,
Command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District. “At this time there is no intention to
close the locks."

[vano397]

Not to play politician...but i don't want to hear "we remain firmly committed to achieving our goal"; I want to hear "we WILL achieve our goal, and ARE achieving it NOW!"
Ive been "firmly commited" to lots of things that didn't work out quite like i thought they would...
How about washington stops wasting their time forcing their own agendas and start fixing something that really needs to be fixed...NOW!
(I think i might start throwing things so ill stop!)

[sabbatoy]

Lake Mighigan is in big trouble and all the adjoining waters if this isn't stopped now. Too much red tape to get it done in a timely matter and the clock is ticking....my 2 cents worth..

[Hamilton Reef]

We need a defense army of legal size GLS in all our drown river mouth lakes to help keep the Asian carp invasion in check.

[Kingfisher]

Hamilton has it right. If we can get a head start re establishing Muskies to the great lakes young big head carp will be nothing but food. Mike

[Cyberlunge]

Got this today...



United States Senator Debbie Stabenow - Michigan

Dear Kevin,



I am writing to give you an update on my work to protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp. The recent discovery of an Asian carp in Lake Calumet, very close to Lake Michigan, should serve as a wake-up call to government agencies about the urgency of this situation.



Today, I introduced legislation to permanently prevent Asian carp and other invasive species from entering the Great Lakes. Congressman Dave Camp (R-Michigan) has introduced our bipartisan legislation in the House of Representatives as well. The Permanent Prevention of Asian Carp Act requires the Army Corps of Engineers to follow the recommendations of top experts in the field and expedite their study detailing the engineering options to permanently separate the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes.



In the Senate, my bill is co-sponsored by Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan), and other Great Lakes Senators. A permanent separation of the waterways would allow cargo to pass through the Chicago locks, but would prevent the water itself, and any invasive species living in it, from entering Lake Michigan.



I also recently spoke about this issue on the floor of the Senate, so my colleagues would know how urgent this issue is for us in Michigan. You can watch the speech on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY-Sy12t3qg.



The Great Lakes are Michigan's most precious natural resource, and they are a part of our way of life. I will never stop fighting to protect them.



Sincerely,



Debbie Stabenow

United States Senator