Northern Pike: A**holes of the Fishing World

Bob Wire in New West brilliantly takes aim at Montana's invasive pike, or as Wire refers to them, the Rahm Emanuel of the Sea. There are now established Pike populations in many of the watersheds of Western Montana and the outlook for containment is grim..... a laugh out loud must read.

There is some hope, if Montana fishermen are willing to take some steps in the right direction. In some states, like Maine and California, where the northern pike is not native, fishermen are required to remove the heads of any pike they catch. I say let’s take it a step further, and put those heads on a small stake at the edge of the water, as a warning to other pike.

LINK (Via: New West)

Do Asian carp really spell doom for the Great Lakes?

Photo Via: Rolf and Kathy Simonson

Some experts say that Asian carp may not be the ecological disaster some are predicting. Ironically it's another pair of invasive species, zebra and quagga mussels, that may be one of the factors that limits the leaping carp from establishing a hold in Lake Michigan.

LINK (Via: Freep.com)

White House will host carp summit

Despite the Obama administration's decision to side with the State of Illinois in the lawsuit to close the Ship Canal locks, officials have been insisting that turning back the carp's advance is a high priority for the administration.  LINK

Asian carp DNA found in Lake Michigan; Supreme Court rejects remedy

Photo: Chris Young

More bad news on the efforts to stop Asian Carp from entering the Great Lakes.

New water samples reveal that Asian carp DNA has been found in Lake Michigan near the city of Chicago, the first indication that the giant leaping fish, which can upend entire ecosystems, has made it up the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and into the world's largest freshwater system.

The Journal Sentinel learned of the apparent breach just minutes before the U.S. Supreme Court announced it had declined a request from a coalition of Great Lakes states to force the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to slam shut two lakeside navigation locks in a drastic attempt to protect the Great Lakes and their $7 billion annual fishery.

LINK (Via: JS On-Line)

Sue em or Stew em - Two Ways to Stop Asian Carp

Photo: Chris Young

Stop Asian Carp is a project of Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox. Cox is suing the Army Corp. and the State of Illinois to close the locks that provide the last barrier keeping the carp out of the Great Lakes. Sign the on-line petition urging the Congress and the President to force the Army Corp. to close the locks.

LINK

If you can't beat em....eat em!

Asian carp may be a problem in the Great Lakes, but in Louisiana they are renaming it silver fin and promoting it as a delicacy. Chef Philippe Parola says the Asian carp's texture is a cross between scallop and crabmeat, adding its bones can be removed easily by steaming. 

LINK (Via: NPR)

Commercial anglers are having a tough time marketing this abundant nuisance species which ranks better than tuna in taste tests.  LINK

Meet Didymo Dave

"Didymo Dave" is an environmental warrior, conservationist and survivor, who protects and prowls New Zealand's central North Island waterways, with the energy of an "Eveready bunny on steroids".

LINK (Via:The NZ Herald)