Asian Carp: Lake Michigan Has Carp DNA, Supreme Court Denies Michigan Plea For Action

The Army Corps of Engineers will announce Tuesday afternoon that DNA of the invasive Asian carp has been found in Lake Michigan, reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The announcement comes on the same day as the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request by the State of Michigan to force Illinois to address the Asian carp migration.

The ruling, or lack thereof, came down Tuesday morning, as the court denied review to a number of cases. Michigan was seeking a permanent injunction forcing Illinois to close waterway locks and take many other emergency measures to stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes system.

The carp are migratory fish that, according to the EPA, are "large, extremely prolific, and consume vast amounts of food." As such, they pose a threat to native fish species, and to the $7 billion fishing industry in the region. Michigan and other states, including Wisconsin and New York, are hoping that the waterways around Chicago will be shut down to prevent the fish from reaching Lake Michigan. Last week, reports showed Asian carp DNA within a mile of the lake.

But closing down the locks would have a deleterious effect on Illinois' shipping industry, and given its current budget crisis, the state is reluctant to do so.

From the Tribune:

Gov. Pat Quinn declined to say whether he favored closing the locks, but said: "We have to protect the ecology of the Great Lakes; we also have many, many jobs that depend on shipping, so there has to be a proper balance.

"There are ways of preventing the carp from getting into the Great Lakes without strangling our economy."

The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on Michigan's other plea, seeking to reopen a decision from 80 years ago. That ruling, a consent decree by the court, allowed Chicago to divert a certain amount of water from the lake. A revision of that decree could still force Chicago to close its locks entirely.

Without Supreme Court action today, though, Governors Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and Jim Doyle of Wisconsin are calling for a White House summit on the carp issue, seeking an "immediate" solution to the problem.

Meanwhile, such measures may already be too late, as the Army Corps of Engineers' report is expected to show traces of leaping silver carp already in the lake. "Environmental DNA," usually found in fecal samples, indicates that the carp are nearby. A sample from December 8 found eDNA in Lake Michigan, the report will say.

Comments

[fshrmn]

01:55 PM on 01/31/2010

The almighty dollar rule$ this country.

[MrBurlesk]

05:29 AM on 01/21/2010

Our judicial system is so EFFFED up.

[Kelly L White]

01:01 AM on 01/21/2010

Are they edible? If humans can sell them, make a profit from them, then they won't decimate the native fish population- they won't have a chance, we have a history of eating such things to extinction.

Smoked carp is pretty good, actually.

[ChristopherAtom]

09:58 AM on 01/20/2010

Well, I guess we will be needing these
http://www.illinoisbowfishing.net/Recipes.html

[ChristopherAtom]

09:58 AM on 01/20/2010

Carp Cakes

1 small buffalo or carp, prepared for cooking
3 eggs
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk cracker meal
1/4 cup vegetable shortening

Bake the fish in a preheated 350-degree oven until fish flakes easily from the bones. Remove the meat from the bones, allow to cool, then crumble in a bowl. In a blender, mix onion, green pepper, garlic salt, salt, and pepper, and liquefy. Add the liquid to the crumbled fish. Shape into patties. Dip each patty in the egg/milk mixture, then dredge in cracker meal. Fry in shortening heated in a skillet. Brown both sides

[ChristopherAtom]

09:59 AM on 01/20/2010

Carp Sausage [Great With Grits!]

Skin and fillet the fish, removing mud vein. Partly freeze the fillets and then grind them into a fine mash in a meat grinder.
For every one pound of ground carp, add 1/4 to 1/3 pound of beef hamburger, and 1 Tablespoon commercial poultry and sausage seasoning. Mix well.
Form into patties and store in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
The patties can then be frozen or cooked immediately.
Place patties in a frying pan over medium heat and fry 4 to 5 minutes on each side.
Do not overcook.
These cooked patties, (cold or still hot) make excellent sandwiches with lettuce, mayonnaise or tartar sauce.

[47th]

11:07 PM on 01/19/2010

Closing the locks, and other actions, should have been taken a long time ago. I fish on the Illinois River regularly, and the Asian Carp is the dominant species on the river south and west of Lasalle- Peru. No industry is worth the further destruction of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

[Kitwanga]

06:42 PM on 01/19/2010

As a Canadian I find the ruling by the court absurd, foolish and self serving. These fish will decimate the Great Lakes that are shared by both countries.
I guess a few bucks make by a shipping company trumps the environment and international relations, what a selfish thing to do.

Thanks for nothing.

[skullman]

10:23 AM on 01/20/2010

I've been waiting for the Canadians to speak out on this. These fish should have never been allowed into the U.S.

I don't think there is any way to stop them from getting into the Great Lakes. The lawsuits will take years to sort out.

[captain slow]

02:05 PM on 01/19/2010

ugh.

why are the courts so spinless. once the 7billion dollar fishing industry is gone, then they will regret not taking action to prevent this.

guess i should start fishing really early this season

[David Zaber]

12:33 PM on 01/19/2010

A "balance" between protecting commerce and protecting the world's most important source of freshwater? There is no balance if the carp enter the lakes, Governor.

Listening to the Henny Pennies of the Chamber of Commerce squeal about a falling sky if the locks are closed reminds one of the claims that banning the cancer-causing pesticide, dieldrin, from Illinois' cornfields would decimate agriculture. Or the claims that passing a bottle bill would devastate industry. Or the assertions that protecting endangered species habitat would ruin the housing industry. Why? Because these scare tactics didn't materialize and that is what will again happen when the locks are closed.

It's high time that cooler heads prevail and the locks are closed. Then a more deliberative approach can be used to address the problem of carp in the Illinois River system.

[pastor agnostic]

11:58 AM on 01/19/2010

spineless court.

The danger is real, while the court remains ignorant. There is a legal question to be answered, a controversy between the states. (see article III, Sec 2) It threatens jobs, food sources, water quality, and potentially lives. Of course, the court has jurisdiction.

Of course, congress should be acting, ASAP, as well. But the leadership in both houses is so spineless and rudderless, I don't see them acting either.