By now you've probably heard that they found traces of Asian carp DNA on the wrong side of the electric barrier designed to keep the carp menace from invading the Great Lakes. Given the consequences of the buggers making it into the Great Lakes, combined with the need to shut down the electric barrier for maintenance, officials decided to poison a 6 mile segment of the of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. So far one Asian carp has been found among the carcasses of what could be up to 200,000 pounds of dead fish.
LINK (Via MSNBC)
How big is the kill?
The fish kill is so large that rotenone's manufacturer couldn't supply enough of the poison. Illinois officials had to get donations from fish and wildlife officials in other states. A crew of 200 will work five days to execute the fish kill. LINK (Via: USA Today)
The Army Corp of Imbeciles
One of the options to help keep the carp out of Lake Michigan is to close the Ship Canal locks but the Army Corp says they are not prepared to take that step until they do further study. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and several environmental groups called on that state’s attorney general to take legal action to force the closure of the locks. LINK (Via: The Battle Creek Enquirer)
The sky may not be falling after all
Biologist Duane Chapman knows as much about Asian carp as anyone in the United States, and he says that even though some of the giant fish apparently have breached an electric barrier protecting the Great Lakes, all is not lost. LINK (Via: JS Online}