Comments on: Asian Carp Knocking at the Great Lakes’ Door; Michigan Attorney General Seeks To Slam It Shut

By: Don Mitchel

Don Mitchel — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:41:57 +0000

Another problem that the southern fish farmers pose is the interstate transportation of fish using natural waters.
As bills like H.R.3669 address the problems of invasive species by private pet owners, it should be noted that fish farmers have had meetings with officials of the Federal government discussing their belief that waters of fish being brought into our country need to be considered for problems. As industry will play an important role in helping keep our waters clean, problems including interstate transportation with no federal endorsement, disease, virus, invasive and chemical use are all problematic as fish farmers move their fish across state lines without considering the quality of water used or what is added. If legislation to eliminate exotic species and ornamental fish from being imported into our country is enacted domestic production and the transportation problems should increase. This water often ends back in our natural waters. Some fish farmers will deliver fish through fed –ex by air to all states. They even have a bait fish that has a patent pending that will live in salt or fresh water, which they will deliver this way. The Presidents Ocean and great lakes initiative is aware of this problem and how states such as mine did not bother to address water as problematic so long as the fish had an inspection using an international standard of fish testing with in the last year in another state out of any jurisdiction without regard for the water. Fish transported and sold in the US often change hands many different times with many different water changes and chemicals used without regard for state laws during transportation. In some states such as NY they can be brought into the state from anywhere in the country without worrying about water disposal. I have seen the transport water and it is often milky, suds, full of scales, dead fish, invasive (crabs, polliwog, etc.) with the possibility of pathogens and virus. In the mid 1990’s as the fish being delivered from Arkansas to me were dying of disease, it was not uncommon to see bait fish, ornamental s, food fish on the same truck being spread out from tank to tank as space was freed up, as I know I often added more water to take them to their next delivery. This water and the fish are often unloaded from tanks on trucks through pipes to tanks fed by natural water where the overflow is back into natural waters. I am in the industry and do believe that mandatory safe procedures can solve this and made many ignored suggestions to my state. As high level administration officials that now negotiate trade with China involving water movement through ballast systems, did not recognize virus and pathogens in natural waters for fish transport when they were involved as a senator in NY, despite knowing that our state university helping formulate policy about bait fish was busy studying virus in water, with a grant, I doubt whether they will care about the dangers of ballast water or the carbon footprints associated with bring foreign products into our country in order to keep our large retail employers shelves filled with foreign manufactured products.
It should be noted in history despite the historic legislation passed by the House of representatives in 2008 to curtail ballast water introduction of virus and pathogens in American waters, ( that was rejected in the 2008 because of fear it would override individual state rights to stronger legislation), this Administration has failed to address ballast water as the economic recovery begins to increase the amount of shipping activity, other than threw the week Coast Guard 2 decade purposed plan which mirrors another international organization made up of foreign countries, foreign sea captains, and foreign countries (IMO). It should also be noted that a military plan rather than legislation is subject to delay and change by the next commander and chief. To allow this to happen with insufficient protection, is the same way that the last president to address ballast water on a national level did prior to 2001, and it was then, ignoring national security and is now still ignoring national security.

By: gael tryles

gael tryles — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:18:13 +0000

Something MUST be done to prevent to invasion of the asian Carp into The great lakes! I heard that president OBama said it wasn’t feasible to stop these fish by closing the waterways that would allow these invasive fish into the Great Lakes-he must be wrong, we cannot just sit by and allow them a key to these beautiful ,freshwater lakes. If allowed into the Great Lakes we can’t turn the clock-it will be over! They would destroy the habitat of our native fish and ,in turn,destroy our native fish and the fisheries and sport fishing that the native fish support.The recreation enjoyed by so many from Michigan and many other states would be gone as we now know it. Can you imagine waterskiing, windsailing, any form of boating and jet skiing and so many other things to numerous to mention and being smacked in the face or head by a big asian Carp. It would ruin the enjoyment of the lakes it would ruin the tourist trade and the jobs and economy would sink or dissapear. These fish Must be STOPPED! We had better be more careful in allowing foreign species into this country . We should have learned from past misstakes that it doesn’t work. Our native species take a hit and lose out to the invasive species most of the time. PLE ASE,we must protect our valuable resource~ THE GREAT LAKES~ lets keep them that way. gael tryles

By: Enviro Surge & Scourge (Man’s Miscalculations Upon the Resources) « SwittersB & Fly Fishing

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:12:52 +0000

[...] “The latest threat — Asian carp — began their relentless march north along the Mississippi River decades ago, after being imported for use in Southern states to clean the ponds of catfish farmers in the 1970s. Government workers were also experimenting with the fish as a way to control weeds and dispose of sewage. The fish proved dangerously effective at eating and reproducing in their new home, with the bighead carp variety eating up to 40 percent of its weight each day and growing to 100 pounds and four feet long. Once the carp got into the wild, they began driving out native fish species that anglers covet, eventually dominating entire stretches of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The silver carp variety’s habit of jumping several feet out of the water into the path of motorboats — and their pilots and passengers — makes recreational boating a dangerous proposition in infested areas, with many injuries reported.” Asian Carp About to Enter Great Lakes Chain [...]

By: Wayne Schoenhals

Wayne Schoenhals — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 01:34:07 +0000

The clock is ticking. The everglades are now host to non indiginous pythons and other toss-away pets, zebra mussels clogging waterway s, these carp introduced under the name of science, Love Canal NY state, 25 years ago the US Army Corp of Engineers almost opened up a canal to aid Mississippi R. tug and barge shipping. Had that been done New Orleans would have been just a memory after hurricane Katrina. The Great Lakes water level is lowest on record for the last 5 plus years now.
Introduction of non-indiginous species of any kind into anywhere in North America was/is folly upsetting the balance of nature. Now is the profound question as to how to wind back the hands of time or more realisicitly “How to Correct or Control” these threatning issues at hand. Can we or is it too late?
These problems affect the worlds largest supply of fresh water shared by two nations of which countless rivers and tributaries drain into. Truely massive efforts must be implemented to all these maladies before it is beyond reproach.