An Asian Carp has been found just six miles from Lake Michigan, the first above a barrier designed to keep the invasive fish out. DNA of the Carp had been found months ago in the lake, a reason Phil Moy, UW-Sea Grant Institute Fisheries Specialist, was not surprised at this week’s discovery. “It was simply a matter of tracking down the few, rare fish that are above the barrier.” Moy cites the massive netting operations as evidence that few carp are in the area.
As an advisor to the Army Corps of Engineers on the electric barrier, Moy believes it has been successful. He says the 19-pound Carp found in Chicago’s Lake Calumet and the “few” others upstream likely came through in September of 2008, when the only electric barrier was shut down for a month.
Federal lawmakers and several states, including Wisconsin, have called for a complete shut down the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Illinois officials are opposed to the closure saying it would strike a severe blow to Chicago businesses.