No one much likes the Asian carp.
They’re an invasive species and being found now on both sides of the Canada and U.S. border. They’re believed to have made their way up the Mississippi River to the Great Lakes.
The problem with Asian carp: they consume huge amounts of plankton, according to this story from the CBC . Plankton are the food source of some native species such as walleye and lake trout. Eat the plankton, the other fish won’t survive.
But now the Army Corps of Engineers has released its plan for how to stem the invasion. It involves eight options over the next 25 years and the potential expenditure of $18.4 billion. The alternatives includes separating basins, waterway changes and flood control.
In this report from the Associated Press, the corps didn’t recommend a single option but approaches included using equipment and technology and sealing off waterway systems.
Currently, electronic barriers are being used to keep the carp out of the Great Lakes, which has a $7 billion fishery. But it’s not good enough and there’s almost universal agreement that the carps are making their way into the Great Lakes.
h/t: Global News
Photo credit: Great Lakes Fishery Commission
