Commissioner Frank Avila of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago discusses the Asian carp problem with Philip B. Moy, Ph.D., a fisheries and non-indigenous species specialist with the Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute. Phil has been with the UW Sea Grant program since 1999 and holds a Ph.D. in Zoology from Southern Illinois University. Phil and Commissioner Avila discuss the five different types of Asian carp present in our waterways: the Common carp, the Black carp, the Grass carp, the Bighead carp and the Silver carp. The Silver and the Bighead carp are the two types of carp that have already negatively impacted the Mississippi river ecosystem and pose a significant threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem. They were both intentionally introduced to fish culture ponds in the United States to maintain water quality, however, due to flooding the Carp swam away and found their way into the Mississippi river. The Bighead and Silver carp pose a significant threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem because of their ravenous feeding and spawning habits. They can eat 40% of their body weight a day. If introduced to the lake, the Bighead and Silver carp would be very difficult to control and would quickly out-compete native species by disrupting their food chain and consequently become the dominant species in the lake. Commissioner Avila and Phil also discuss the electric barriers put in place in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) to prevent invasive species from entering Lake Michigan. During the first week of December, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is planning on performing maintenance on one of the electric barriers. This portion of the CSSC will be shut down to all traffic from December 1st through the 6th. Phil and Commissioner Avila talk about how there is a fear that when the electric barrier is shut down for maintenance that the Silver and Bighead carp will travel through the canal into Lake Michigan. In response to this fear, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources who is working with other environmental agencies as part of the Asian Carp Rapid Response Group will be applying Rotenone, a fish poison, in the canal during the electric barrier shut-down, which will kill the Asian carp. Watch this educational and informative interview about the impending Asian carp crisis.
