June, 2010
June 24th, 2010
Welcome Asian Carp, I Hope You Like Lake Trout
For months people have been rightfully sounding the alarm about Asian Carp, the vociferous nonnative fish that destroy fish populations wherever they go. The carp eating every fish in some little rivers isn’t a huge deal. But if they get into the Great Lakes, they could inflict a piscatory ass-kicking of epic proportions.
There’s an easy way to make sure the carp don’t get into the Great Lakes. There are locks that could be closed that would shut the Great Lakes off from the waterways that have been infested with carp. But doing so would put a damper on business that use those waters for shipping purposes.
The government of the State of Illinois, that beacon of something other than moral fortitude, assures us that there is no need to close to the locks and that little electric fences will keep the carp out.
Well, now they found a 19-pound carp in Lake Calumet yesterday. Lake Calumet is between Lake Michigan and the locks. The Corps of Engineers has already said this is not making them rethink their approach to the whole carp issue.
Frankly, I’m tired of this story because I know how it ends. Greed and arrogance will win out and the carp are going to be in Lake Michigan. And no lesson will be learned. The End.
