After a commercial fisherman pulled a live Asian carp out of a northern Illinois river that empties into Lake Michigan, authorities have expressed concern that more of the invasive species have made it past electric barriers meant to keep them out of the Great Lakes, says the LA Times.
“Bighead and silver carp are two of the four types of Asian carp threatening the Great Lakes, largely because they eat massive amounts of plankton that walleye, perch, whitefish, and other native species depend on during crucial stages of development,” says the Times. “Silver carp have become YouTube sensations because boat motors cause them to leap high out the water, in some cases injuring passing boaters.”
For now, authorities caution that the presence of one fish doesn’t mean many more have eluded the barriers or are reproducing in the Great Lakes themselves. But the event has raised alarms, especially since the Trump administration has proposed cutting much of the funding for the bipartisan, interagency program designed to keep Asian carp out of what is world’s largest body of fresh surface water. The $5 million-a-year program pays commercial fishermen to check for carp in the waterways and remove them from the Illinois River. The White House has also delayed the release of a report on preventing the spread of Asian carp written by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.