SHEBOYGAN, WISCONSIN — Two northwestern Ontario mayors have joined 100 of their Canadian and American counterparts from around the Great Lakes in seeking additional defensive measures against the Asian Carp.
Asian Carp are four voracious fish species from Asia that were introduced in the southern US in the 1960s to clean up ponds.
Eventually, they made their way into the Mississippi River and other waterways, taking them to the edge of the Great Lakes.
On Thursday, at an annual cross-border conference of Great Lakes mayors, they signed a Declaration to Stop Asian Carp, calling on the US Congress to fund additional defensive measures at a dam near Joliet, Illinois.
A study has identified it as a "one-way choke point" to stop the Asian Carp from entering Lake Michigan.
Nipigon Mayor Richard Harvey and Terrace Bay Mayor Jody Davis are attending the conference.
Harvey says "Asian Carp are knocking on our door. They have no natural predators. They eat everything."
According to Ontario's Invasive Species Awareness Program, they consume up to 40 per cent of their body weight each day, leaving little food for native species to eat.
Asian Carp also reproduce rapidly.
"Once they get into the Great Lakes," Harvey said, "there will be no way for us to stop them from spreading. The entire sport and commercial fishery will be wiped out, a $1.4 billion economic blow."
The US Army Corps of Engineers has proposed installing a new electric barrier at the Brandon Road dam to repel or stun the carp, as well as flushing jets and underwater speakers to persuade them to stay downstream.
Harvey said the project needs to be approved soon.
"Here is the solution. The studies are done. But people keep calling for more studies."
He said he's encouraged that governors of Great Lakes states are now advocating more strongly for immediate action.
