House Rejects Proposal To Close Lake Michigan Locks To Block Asian Carp

[hatrack]

Traverse City— The U.S. House rejected a proposal Thursday to force the closure of Chicago-area shipping locks that could provide an opening to the Great Lakes for voracious Asian carp, a potential threat to native fish species and the region's economy.

By a vote of 292-137, lawmakers defeated a budget bill amendment offered by Republican Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan that would have denied funding to the Army Corps of Engineers to open the two navigational structures. Opponents argued successfully that the locks were vital to commerce and closing them wouldn't necessarily prevent the unwanted carp from reaching Lake Michigan.

EDIT

During debate on his proposed amendment, Camp said closing the locks was "the single most important step we can take to prevent these species from entering the Great Lakes." He accused opponents of exaggerating the potential damage to the Chicago economy, which he said would "pale in comparison to the multi-billion-dollar industries that would be wiped out by Asian carp." "Every day of inaction puts the Great Lakes ecosystem, the largest body of fresh water in the world, and 800,000 jobs it sustains at risk," Camp said.

Rep. Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican, said electric barriers on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal had done a good job of blocking the carp's advance, even though scientists have reported finding DNA from the carp beyond the devices.
Ed. - emphasis added.

EDIT/END

http://www.detnews.com/article/20110218/POLITICS03/102180400/1409/metro/U.S.-House-rejects-proposal-to-close-Chicago-locks-in-Asian-carp-fight

[Botany]

1. Why do republicans hate fishermen?

[Demoiselle]

2. Hmmm. Sounds like the Asian Carp Lobby is formidable.

...I'm joking, btw. Tell me if I'm wrong, but is this a victory for the stupid again?

[hatrack]

3. Stupid reigns, Jesus wept . . .

And everybody got a tax cut!!!!

[Kolesar]

5. The watersheds are also connected in the floodplains of Ft. Wayne, Indiana

your joke is great

[MineralMan]

4. I very strongly suspect that the asian carp are already in the lake.

There's some evidence of that, but it seems likely that the lack of effective barriers let the fish in while nobody was really looking. If that's the case, it's too late already for such measures.

Once the carp move into the open waters of the lake, they're going to be very difficult to find, and may go undiscovered for some time, especially since these carp won't be caught by the many sports anglers, since they don't take bait. Until some wash up on the shore, dead, we won't know for sure how many have entered the lake. Even netting surveys could completely miss these fish.

Odds are, too, that their jumping and leaping when disturbed will be lessened in open waters, where they are less restricted.

I'm afraid the time for the measures that were turned down has already passed.

[Kaleva]

6. If it is already in the Great Lakes, it has the potential to become a major food source

[MineralMan]

7. Yah, it could be netted commercially. Trouble is, we don't like

carp that much here. You'd have to give it a cool trade name. "Silver Snapper" would work, I suppose.

[Kaleva]

8. People are already working on coming up with a new name

"First, the rebranding. In January, Louisiana wildlife officials rolled out the Silverfin Promotion, enlisting chefs to create recipes for what they called the tasty white meat of the bighead carp and silver carp, the two dominant invaders.

“A cross between scallops and crabmeat,” declared Philippe Parola, a noted seafood chef whose new recipes include silverfin almondine. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/us/22carp.html

Another name being floated is "Kentucky Tuna".

[Kablooie]

9. Anything that smacks of environmentalism is killed by Reps.

It's an automatic reaction. Like all their decisions. Nothing based on logic, only on image.