New bill to battle Asian carp
Monday, July 19, 2010
U.S.
Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH) today announced
he will support a new bill that could prevent Asian carp from
entering the Great Lakes and Lake Erie.
LaTourette has agreed to co-sponsor H.R. 5625, the Permanent
Prevention of Asian Carp Act, which was introduced by Rep. Dave
Camp (R-MI). LaTourette said the need for the legislation is
urgent since a live carp was found on June 22 on the Michigan side
of the Army Corps of Engineer's electric barrier in Chicago.
He said carp were found past the barriers a few miles from
Lake Michigan. Asian carp were found spawning in the Wabash River
in Illinois, not far from a connection to the Maumee River, which
feeds into Lake Erie.
"We have battled invasive species in the Great Lakes
before, but if the Asian carp makes inroads it will be
devastating. These enormous fish can jump into boats and have
voracious appetites that will wreak havoc with native Great Lakes
fish," LaTourette said. "We cannot let this escalate and permit
their spread into the Great Lakes."
The carp are massive, often four feet long and weighing up
to 100 pounds, and can eat half their body weight in a day.
The EPA has said that researchers "expect that Asian carp would
disrupt the food chain that supports the native fish of the Great
Lakes." The EPA also says "their large size, ravenous
appetites, and rapid rate of reproduction….could pose a significant
risk to the Great Lakes Ecosystem."
LaTourette said the invasive species could pose a
tremendous threat to the Great Lakes' $7.5 billion fishing industry
and the 800,000 jobs it supports. The EPA says two
species of Asian carp -- the bighead and silver -- were imported by
catfish farmers in the 1970s to remove algae and suspended matter
out of their ponds. During flooding in the early 1990s, many of the
catfish farm ponds overflowed their banks, and the Asian carp were
released into local waterways in the Mississippi River basin.
The EPA says the carp have "steadily made their way northward up
the Mississippi, becoming the most abundant species in some areas
of the River."
Today, Ohio joined with four Great Lakes states and sued
the federal government and Chicago's water department to close
shipping locks in Chicago so Asian carp can't access the Great
Lakes. LaTourette said the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to
close the locks, necessitating the lawsuit.
Scientists at the Fish and Wildlife Service have called
Asian carp the "greatest immediate threat to the Great Lakes" and
LaTourette said more needs to be done to separate the Great Lakes
and Mississippi River watersheds.
A companion bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate
and a hearing was held last week. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
and George V. Voinovich (R-OH) are co-sponsors. LaTourette, former
co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, has been very involved in
invasive species issues impacting the Great Lakes. He and
former Sen. John Glenn teamed up to pass the reauthorization of the
landmark National Invasive Species Act, or NISA.