Canadian Enviros Want Stronger Action To Stop Asian Carp

Jun 4: In a release, environmental groups announced they will be submitting a petition to the Ontario government, requesting the province take stronger steps to stop an invasive species of fish, Asian carp, from entering the Great Lakes. The petition asks the government to immediately begin working with the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative (GLCI) to ensure the Great Lakes and Mississippi basins are physically separated to prevent Asian carp from getting into Lake Michigan. The petition was signed by more than 900 Ontario residents and organized by the Great Lakes Section of the Sierra Club and Great Lakes United. 

 

    Mary Muter of the Sierra Club Ontario said, "Great Lakes residents, both U.S. and Canadian, are alarmed by the threat of Asian carp. We are calling for a permanent solution in the Chicago area waterways, which artificially connect the Mississippi to the Great Lakes. We need to protect what wetlands we have left and the already threatened fish community from these rapidly reproducing food-chain disrupters." According to a release, the groups indicate that the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative have released a report, Restoring the Natural Divide, outlining viable solutions to the threat from Asian carp and other invasive species [See WIMS 2/7/12]. They said the report suggests a long-term, permanent solution instead of stopgap measures that, on their own, will ultimately fail to stop the Asian carp's march to Lake Michigan.

    Access a release from the environmental groups (click here). Access the GLC-GLCI report and all supporting materials (click here).

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