Asian carp threaten balance in the Great Lakes

Illinois is President Barack Obama’s home state and Michigan officials accused his administration of favoritism when it supported Illinois in the lawsuit.

But the Obama administration supports other measures to contain these foreign invaders. Its plans include an Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework — and a $51.5 million program-in addition to the $105 million already allocated — to defend the Great Lakes. This multi-faceted strategy includes a list of lethal tactics that reads like a page from a spy novel, including female carp urine to lure unsuspecting males, poison pellets and underwater guns that shoot high-intensity sound waves.

Jackson Gross, a U.S. Geological Survey biologist and lead investigator for one of the projects, said the water guns can shoot a blast of air more than 30 feet to scare or stun fish. If the stun gun proves to be effective, it will used in the Chicago Sanitary Canals to help repel carp.

Like so many other concerned scientists, he laments the loss of native fish in the Illinois River. A century ago, it supported the largest inland fishery in America.

“The Illinois had one of the most diverse fish populations in the country until Asian carp took over,” he said. “Wild carp are like a cancer on the environment.”