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Asian carp DNA found in Lake Michigan


By Joel Hood, Chicgao Tribune reporter

The DNA of Asian carp has been found in Lake Michigan for the first time, researchers said Tuesday, igniting a new round of calls for urgent action and renewed criticism of Illinois and the federal government for allowing the voracious carp to migrate up the state's waterways.

The alarming find came just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to address the carp issue, rejecting Michigan's request for an injunction to force Illinois to stop its waterways from flowing into Lake Michigan. That left the issue in the hands of federal and state officials in Illinois.

Soon after the DNA announcement, officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other agencies attempted to downplay concerns, saying there is still no evidence that live carp have entered Lake Michigan or that the invasive species could flourish if they do.

But the discovery may bring the region a step closer to a scenario in which the carp devastate the Great Lakes' fragile ecology and commercial fishing interests. While researchers now plan more tests to verify the DNA findings, some officials are calling for a White House summit to draft a joint plan of action, while others are demanding a massive carp kill or more barriers leading to the lake.

"We've been sitting on our hands for two months. It's no surprise that these fish continue to move toward Lake Michigan," said Joel Brammeier, president and chief executive of the Alliance for the Great Lakes.

"We're at that tipping point right now where the balance is still in our favor to stop Asian carp from getting in," Brammeier said. "But the longer we wait, the more that tips in the other direction."

In the short term, Illinois officials promised to do more environmental DNA testing in the lake's Calumet Harbor. One positive DNA sample was found there, and a second was located about half a mile away in the Calumet River, from where water flows freely to the lake. Researchers want to comb the Calumet area as early as next week, casting nets and using electro-shock to stun fish and bring them to the surface in the hope of finding whole carp and confirming the DNA tests.

But the broader implications of the findings are still unknown, and officials have yet to publicly discuss ways to actually control the carp population in Lake Michigan if it is discovered that the species makes it that far in large numbers.

Among a number of ideas floated this week was a downstate entrepreneur's call for a state-sponsored fish kill, in which professional anglers would round up as many carp as possible and send them to processing plants to become food, bulk protein and fish oil.

Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Michigan's plea to force Illinois to close navigational locks and dams in the Chicago area to prevent the carp from advancing into Lake Michigan. The court did not explain its decision, but the U.S. solicitor general had argued that Michigan should have sued the Corps of Engineers instead.

While Chicago's boating and shipping industries applauded Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling, the high court could still weigh in later on larger aspects of Michigan's case. Specifically, Michigan has asked the court to re-open a 1922 case that created Chicago's Sanitary and Ship Canal and, for the first time, linked the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River.

The decision fueled more heated rhetoric in the interstate feud, prompting the governors of Michigan and Wisconsin to call for an immediate Asian carp summit at the White House where governors from the Great Lakes region could hash out a plan.

Christine Glunz, an administration spokeswoman, supported the idea, saying, "Coordinating efforts across all levels of government to defeat Asian carp is one of our immediate priorities … we would welcome a meeting with Great Lakes governors."

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, who initiated the lawsuit against Illinois, responded to the ruling by calling on President Obama to close the Chicago area locks until a wider solution can be found to keep the carp out of the lakes. Cox, a Republican, accused Obama of having a "stunning" indifference to the issue.

The question of how far the carp have gotten now turns on the reliability of the DNA samplings, which even Army Corps officials admit are not "foolproof." The emerging technology, developed in partnership with the University of Notre Dame, detects fragments of carp tissue floating in the vast Chicago waterways.

Army Corps Major Gen. John Peabody said Tuesday that biologists are still trying to understand what the presence of carp DNA means, since there have been no physical sightings of the carp north of the underwater electric barriers near Romeoville. The Army Corps has collected about 700 environmental DNA samples north of the barriers since the summer, only a small handful of which tested positive for Asian carp.

But those positive tests have moved steadily north toward Lake Michigan, signaling that carp may already have found ways around the barriers.

"The fact is we don't know where the fish are," said Peabody. "DNA tells us there is a presence in those areas and we've got to begin looking at whether we are getting false positives or negatives so we know what we're dealing with."

There are many ways Asian carp DNA could make it into Lake Michigan without it signaling the presence of live carp, Peabody said. Carp could have been used as bait or consumed by a Chicagoland resident and made its way into the river via the sewer system.

"Our government's reaction to the invasion is not keeping pace," said Jennifer Nalbone, director of Invasive Species for Great Lakes United. "The carp are moving faster than the government and that is an incredible problem because we are not going to get a second chance."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local...0,4725350.story

I think it's safe to say if we had an asteroid bearing down us in 10 years our government officials would still be arguing about how to deal with it five minutes before it hit.

Thanks for posting this Cecil. What a shame.

Our poor lakes - they have not been protected properly have they?
I watched a PBS show recently on the history of the lakes, it was very interesting. Usually the bad stuff starts in our lakes, this time it is coming from somewhere else.

We are blessed with some of the largest and most unique freshwater lakes on earth and we've treated them like crap. The man made canal the grass carp are in near Chicago was orginally designed to flush raw sewage into Lake Michigan. I think we are now up to exotic species number 190 now in the Great Lakes, or something like that, which of course now includes the Asian Tapeworm and other nasty parasites.

I can imagine what they must have looked like and the immense natural fisheries they had 300 years ago. One of the French Explorers commented in his journal on the abundant lake trout in the four feet category in shallow water during I believe it was the fall.

Cecil, it's not just the Great Lakes... All BOW throughout the country have been treated like crap. The history of my home water the Potomac River is pretty sad as well.

You know, here I sit on "lakefront property" sold that way, and it really is a rain water detention pond, yet our deeds say SS Lake Estates. Well it is the county and the city that are polluting it.
They allowed the poor design, they refuse to clean the catch basins on a regular schedule, and they are filling us up with salt making it brackish. Surely the gizzard shad came in from the city leaving the outflow in the open position. It makes me sick.

So true CJ. Most of our major rivers are in even worse shape. Back when I used to do an outdoor column we had a big fish kill in a river near Indianapolis. There was this big outcry about it and the industry that accidentally did it was made the big bad guy. Never mind the same river gets millions of gallons of raw sewage every year from the city of Indianapolis, and most of the fish that died in the fish kill were rough nonnatives species like carp(the only thing that really thrived in the river.)

To this day knowing what I know about storm drains running into sewage treatment plants and overwhelming them -- when there is heavy rain causing them to release their untreated sewage -- I won't eat any fish out of them nor will I fish them.

One of my favorite places to fish this time of year is the sewage treatment plant that treats all the nastiness of Washington DC. The Blue Plains Treatment Facility on the Potomac. They pump out clean but substantially warmer water than the ambient river temps. Walleye, LMB, SMB, stripers among others all pile up in the warmer water to feed. Yet, when the Potomac floods, that seem treatment facility will overflow untreated nastiness into the river. What a mess!

CJ I hope to meet you some day, but please don't be offended if I don't accept an invitation to a fish fry.

HAHA, yeah I know I am kinda crazy for eating fish out of the Potomac. Carp and catfish are off the list, but I will eat walleye, crappies and perch and some saltwater fish down at the mouth...

Don't underestimate the value of his 3rd eye...toxins aren't without their desirable effects.

It grew on the back of my head... I love it!

Ewwww! Back in the 70s, I spent a fair amount of time at the Naval Research Laboratory just down wind from Blue Plains. It sure could be disgusting in late summer. I understand they cleaned it up quite a bit -- but does it still smell like . . . well, er, . . . raw sewage??

Actually the water coming out is crystal clear and doesn't smell at all... On warm days I'll fish it this time of year and do quite well. Hair jigs and silver buddies...

You can see the clear water coming out into the muddy Potomac...

Time to find another planet...I think JHAP is already orbiting one now. Any signs of carbon based life, JHAP?

No doubt it's pretty clean when the system is not overwhelmed. And dont' forget they probably use Aluminum sulfate as part of their treatment.

BTW my newspaper editor told me he's actually seen toilet paper in the nearby St. Joe River (South Bend), which is known for it's steelhead runs.

In the mid 70's I ate Walleye caught from the Wisconsin River right around Stevens Point, Wi. They tasted just like the paper mills smelled like. Cooking them once and trying them was enough for me. Yuck!!

When I lived in Massachusetts in the late 60's and early 70's you could tell in a local river (The Nashua) what color paper the paper mill was making by the color of the river. You can say what you want about the Clean Water Act, but it forced them to clean up that river and Lake Erie. Lake Erie was dying back then with little hope.

When I was in college in PA, we used to fish a trout stream that had a paper mill pump out on it. The water coming out was a dark brown stained color and usually much warmer than the stream temp in the winter. It was actually great fishing for trout where the outflow came into the stream. I guess the trout liked the warmer water along with the baitfish. So did every carp and rock bass in the area too. Made for some great winter fishing.

CJ,

Sounds like they treated the effluent somewhat.

I remember fishing a pond that connected partially with this Nashua River. You could always tell when you caught a fish that had come in out of that river. It was full of parasites.

Local (avid) fisherman in Muskegon says that there are 22 ways the Asian Carp can get into LM, as he was on the local news. And also said he knows they are in the waters.

Not sure of his claims, but I did read a report (about 3 years ago) that Grass Carp were caught in LM around the bend area. South West Lower LM.

Grass Carp is an Asian Carp. Possessing one, knowingly or un-knowingly in MI is a 5 year Felony, 1/4 Mil fine, plus reparations to the state to eradicate them.

Plus, well, they taste like... The part they remove from Gizzard Shads before serving them up in fine eateries.

Question 2cat about that one!

Today I got stuck at a 15 minute funeral procession, at least 15 police cars and a really old hearse, like from the 40's or 50'. I looked at the obits in our paper here at work, and there is a full spread page, everything you need to know about these fish, there are 2 varities. I'll try and post some interesting facts tomorrow, it's 8;00 pm, still at work, the major corp year end is the 31st, 2 others in progress, I'm feeling the heat, but I work great under pressure. It is a very cool article and photos, all kinds of stuff. Check out Detroit Free Press, 1/26/10, starts on page 1.

When I was listed as a grass carp supplier in Indiana a couple of years ago I had a lady from Michigan that wanted to buy them. I told her they were illegal in Michigan. She said she knew but didn't care. I said no way no how! For all I know it may have been a set up anyway.

I do seriously question why Michigan won't allow triploid grass carp in private ponds. Apparently your DNR is concerned they would eliminate natural beneficial macorphytes if they got into natural waters right? But at the same time we had a retired DNR official at an aquaculture meeting tell us they are worthless at eliminating macrophytes from ponds. Unless I'm missing something it appears they are trying to have it both ways. I remember him also saying their digestive tract is so short they poop out whatever they east immediately. Funny the picture Catmandoo posted of the intestines of one seemed to be the longest digestive tract I've ever seen.

Hey Cecil:
I just read the article, too tired to post the info, but will tomorrow, seems like all water things there are divided opinions on these fish.

At the Lake Leader Institute one of the PHD presenters showed a photo of a grass carp, (I was the only one that knew what it was) and I asked him if they are effective, and he said yes. But they are not legal here.