LANSING – A proposal unveiled late Wednesday to help control Asian carp from getting in the Great Lakes is not strong enough because it does not call for isolating the lakes from the Mississippi River, officials said.
Attorney General Bill Schuette issued some of the strongest statements against the proposal outlined, saying it would not provide adequate protection for Michigan’s economy and ecology.
And while most others were encouraged the federal government was proposing a plan to keep the ravenous fish species out of the Great Lakes, they also said a method that actually separates the Lakes from the Mississippi River – generally by blocking access through the Chicago River – was required.
Under the plan, the 2013 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework, which is expected to cost more than $50 million, the federal government calls for improving the electric barrier set up near Chicago, using water guns, nets, chemical controls and pheromone attractions to keep the fish at bay.
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) said the announcement was a “welcome step in the right direction,” but to protect the lakes an actual barrier to prevent the fish getting in was needed.
U.S. Rep. Dave Camp (R-Midland) and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) also praised the proposal, but said it fell short of what is needed.
The Michigan League of Conservation Voters said the proposal was a short-term solution. Separating the lakes and the Mississippi is the long-term answer, the group said.
And Schuette said the proposal was “playing Russian roulette” with the state’s commercial and recreational fishing industry, estimated at $7 billion a year.
Everyone who goes fishing in the Great Lakes or takes a peaceful boat ride needs assurance the carp will not get into the lakes, Schuette said.
“We must act right away to slam the door shut on the Mississippi River basin,” Schuette said.
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