This is from the Federal Register with much to read.
US Fish and Wildlife Service takes action on black carp as an injurious species
Injurious Wildlife Species; Black Carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus)
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422 ... 7-5141.pdf
FWS takes action on black carp
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Hamilton Reef
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Steve Horton
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Hamilton Reef
- Posts: 1156
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 9:43 am
- Location: Montague, MI on White River
U.S. takes steps to curb black carp
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/grpress/i ... xml&coll=6
10/26/07 By Howard Meyerson The Grand Rapids Press hmeyerson@grpress.com
Apreemptive move this month by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adds black carp to the federal bad actor list. The decision has Michigan fisheries officials cheering and it should be a reminder to Congress that it has a job to finish here.
"This is a huge victory for everyone," said Jim Dexter, the DNR's Lake Michigan basin coordinator.
The carp was put on the list of injurious species under the Lacey Act. Among other things, the decision makes it illegal to transport the live fish across state lines -- nipping a serious potential problem in the bud.
Averting a problem
"What's good is that they took action soon enough to stop it from becoming a problem in most places, unlike the silver and bighead carp which are causing all kinds of problems in the Mississippi basin," Dexter said.
You may have heard about the giant carp that are well known for displacing every other sport fish in certain Mississippi River waters.
"There are embayments where 40 species of fish have been displaced by Asian carp," Dexter said.
He is referring to the silver and bighead carp which entered the Mississippi during a flood in the 1980s that allowed them to escape from the southern fish farms. They have since migrated 275 miles upstream and spread throughout the basin.
That includes the Illinois River where they are now found, just 13 miles downstream of an aging electric barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal built to stop them. The barrier is 30 miles from Lake Michigan.
At 30 to 40 pounds, the black carp is the smallest and least prevalent of the four Asian carp species of concern, including the bighead, silver and grass carp.
FWS staffers say the black carp entered the U.S. in 1973 as a "contaminant" in shipments of imported Chinese carp.
It entered again in the 1980s, this time for parasite control at southern fish farms where they are now used regularly to control snail-born parasites.
But it is just their fondness for snails and mussels that Great Lakes fish managers fear. Our fresh water mussels are largely threatened or endangered. The black carp has the potential to wipe them out, according to Dexter.
While it is already illegal in Great Lakes states to possess any live Asian carp, fisheries officials were concerned about the loophole governing transport.
"What was lacking was the ability to limit interstate transport," said Dexter. "We were trying to stop them from being shipped from down south to Toronto and having them come through Ohio or Michigan."
The Asian carp issue is a thorny one. They are lauded by the aquaculture industry, loathed by fish managers and loved by Asian communities who eat them.
The silver carp was listed under the Lacey Act last spring. The move now is to get the bighead listed.
The grass carp, a popular ornamental fish used for weed control that has been banned in Michigan for 20 years, has already been found in Michigan waters.
"Listing the grass carp is moot," said Dexter. "We found three in the last two years on the St. Joseph River."
Dexter surmises that someone dumped them there. The fish were killed once they were found.
Containing the bighead and silver carp is another matter. Phil Moy, the assistant director for research and outreach with Wisconsin Sea Grant, said the aging electric barrier built as a demonstration project on the Chicago ship canal continues to work. But its new replacement sits unfinished and now behind schedule.
Another $8.5 million is needed to complete the project started in 2004. The barrier is the first line of defense in the battle to keep Asian carp out of Lake Michigan.
"Once it's up and running, I am sure it will stop large fish," said Moy, who chairs the Chicago Barrier Advisory panel. "But it is frustrating to have our $15 million to $16 million barrier sitting idle waiting for funding and a safety test while we limp along with a $2 million barrier barring the door."
A bill in Congress, he said, would fund the project and make it a federal responsibility, but President Bush is likely to veto it.
His budget requires it to have a 25 percent match from non-federal sources. It also requires that operation and maintenance become a non-federal responsibility.
Moy believes the $250,000 annual costs to operate and maintain the barrier should not be Illinois' burden solely when so many states are affected by the carp's presence.
Just consider, for example, that Michigan's sport fishery industry alone adds $2 billion annually to the state economy. That says nothing of the total impact region-wide.
It will be important for voters to let Congress know that it is crucial that they forge ahead, even in the face of a veto, and make sure the electric barrier project is fully funded.
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/grpress/i ... xml&coll=6
10/26/07 By Howard Meyerson The Grand Rapids Press hmeyerson@grpress.com
Apreemptive move this month by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adds black carp to the federal bad actor list. The decision has Michigan fisheries officials cheering and it should be a reminder to Congress that it has a job to finish here.
"This is a huge victory for everyone," said Jim Dexter, the DNR's Lake Michigan basin coordinator.
The carp was put on the list of injurious species under the Lacey Act. Among other things, the decision makes it illegal to transport the live fish across state lines -- nipping a serious potential problem in the bud.
Averting a problem
"What's good is that they took action soon enough to stop it from becoming a problem in most places, unlike the silver and bighead carp which are causing all kinds of problems in the Mississippi basin," Dexter said.
You may have heard about the giant carp that are well known for displacing every other sport fish in certain Mississippi River waters.
"There are embayments where 40 species of fish have been displaced by Asian carp," Dexter said.
He is referring to the silver and bighead carp which entered the Mississippi during a flood in the 1980s that allowed them to escape from the southern fish farms. They have since migrated 275 miles upstream and spread throughout the basin.
That includes the Illinois River where they are now found, just 13 miles downstream of an aging electric barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal built to stop them. The barrier is 30 miles from Lake Michigan.
At 30 to 40 pounds, the black carp is the smallest and least prevalent of the four Asian carp species of concern, including the bighead, silver and grass carp.
FWS staffers say the black carp entered the U.S. in 1973 as a "contaminant" in shipments of imported Chinese carp.
It entered again in the 1980s, this time for parasite control at southern fish farms where they are now used regularly to control snail-born parasites.
But it is just their fondness for snails and mussels that Great Lakes fish managers fear. Our fresh water mussels are largely threatened or endangered. The black carp has the potential to wipe them out, according to Dexter.
While it is already illegal in Great Lakes states to possess any live Asian carp, fisheries officials were concerned about the loophole governing transport.
"What was lacking was the ability to limit interstate transport," said Dexter. "We were trying to stop them from being shipped from down south to Toronto and having them come through Ohio or Michigan."
The Asian carp issue is a thorny one. They are lauded by the aquaculture industry, loathed by fish managers and loved by Asian communities who eat them.
The silver carp was listed under the Lacey Act last spring. The move now is to get the bighead listed.
The grass carp, a popular ornamental fish used for weed control that has been banned in Michigan for 20 years, has already been found in Michigan waters.
"Listing the grass carp is moot," said Dexter. "We found three in the last two years on the St. Joseph River."
Dexter surmises that someone dumped them there. The fish were killed once they were found.
Containing the bighead and silver carp is another matter. Phil Moy, the assistant director for research and outreach with Wisconsin Sea Grant, said the aging electric barrier built as a demonstration project on the Chicago ship canal continues to work. But its new replacement sits unfinished and now behind schedule.
Another $8.5 million is needed to complete the project started in 2004. The barrier is the first line of defense in the battle to keep Asian carp out of Lake Michigan.
"Once it's up and running, I am sure it will stop large fish," said Moy, who chairs the Chicago Barrier Advisory panel. "But it is frustrating to have our $15 million to $16 million barrier sitting idle waiting for funding and a safety test while we limp along with a $2 million barrier barring the door."
A bill in Congress, he said, would fund the project and make it a federal responsibility, but President Bush is likely to veto it.
His budget requires it to have a 25 percent match from non-federal sources. It also requires that operation and maintenance become a non-federal responsibility.
Moy believes the $250,000 annual costs to operate and maintain the barrier should not be Illinois' burden solely when so many states are affected by the carp's presence.
Just consider, for example, that Michigan's sport fishery industry alone adds $2 billion annually to the state economy. That says nothing of the total impact region-wide.
It will be important for voters to let Congress know that it is crucial that they forge ahead, even in the face of a veto, and make sure the electric barrier project is fully funded.
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Hamilton Reef
- Posts: 1156
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2005 9:43 am
- Location: Montague, MI on White River
Asian carp a cash crop
He intended to fill an order for 13,000 pounds of Asian black carp and be out of the water by noon. Because he fishes with trammel nets, that means manually lifting 13,000 pounds of fighting carp.
First he zoomed toward the eastern shore, turned and headed west, looping from shore to shore. Nearly 800 yards downriver, the water around the nets began to churn. Wave after wave of 15- to 25-pound, aggressive black carp hit the trammel line and began fighting, leaping into the air and struggling to swim free.
As the hours passed, the boat sank lower and lower into the river. Toward the end of morning, silver carp that bring 8 cents a pound were tossed back overboard and dwindling space on board was reserved for black carp, which bring 18-cents a pound.
http://www.prairiestateoutdoors.com/ind ... sian_carp/
He intended to fill an order for 13,000 pounds of Asian black carp and be out of the water by noon. Because he fishes with trammel nets, that means manually lifting 13,000 pounds of fighting carp.
First he zoomed toward the eastern shore, turned and headed west, looping from shore to shore. Nearly 800 yards downriver, the water around the nets began to churn. Wave after wave of 15- to 25-pound, aggressive black carp hit the trammel line and began fighting, leaping into the air and struggling to swim free.
As the hours passed, the boat sank lower and lower into the river. Toward the end of morning, silver carp that bring 8 cents a pound were tossed back overboard and dwindling space on board was reserved for black carp, which bring 18-cents a pound.
http://www.prairiestateoutdoors.com/ind ... sian_carp/