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| Asian Carp DNA in Lake Michigan -- But No Asian Carp |
While the threat to Lake Michigan continues, experts studying the Asian carp are concerned but not panicked. A couple of positive environmental DNA samples have come from Calumet River and Calumet Harbor.
The news comes at the same time as the U. S. Supreme Court refusing to close the locks that connect the Sanitary and Ship Canal to Lake Michigan. The people who take care of the waterways and the fish talked to reporters on a conference call Tuesday, but they stuck to the science and would not discuss the legal matter between the states of Illinois and Michigan.
Maj. Gen. John Peabody with the Army Corps of Engineers Great Lakes and Ohio River division says the samples were taken with E-DNA testing, which is inconclusive about the presence of actual live Asian carp. He says the DNA could have come from dead fish or from fecal matter; no live Asian carp have been spotted in Lake Michigan.
Peabody called the tests a sort of early warning device to help officials know where to look for the invasive species, which can quickly beat other fish species to food sources.
Charles Wooley, director of the Midwest region of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, says from a statistical standpoint, the positive tests are not significant but are a cause for concern. Both men say state and federal agencies are working in coordination to ensure Asian carp do not breach the barriers and enter Lake Michigan.
As for the Supreme Court, The state of Michigan hoped the justices would do more to prevent the fish from entering the lake. Peabody says the Corps operates many of those locks for navigational purposes, but does not have the authority to close them based solely on the effort to stop Asian carp.
(Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 01 20 10 by Newsroom |
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