Asian carp meeting held in St. Joseph, Mich.

The threat of Asian carp invading the Great Lakes had people packing a meeting Thursday in St. Joseph, Michigan. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox says that Friday he will officially file briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to try and force the feds to keep the carp out of the Great Lakes. Cox wants the Chicago shipping locks closed to block the carp from making it into Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes $7 billion sport fishing industry is at the heart of the threat. Captain Kyle Ender of Captain Hook’s Charter Fishing of St. Joseph was among the 150-plus people at the meeting. “We’re 30 years in business,” he said. “I’m a third generation charter captain. My son, he’s five years old, I want him to run our charter business one day and I want to make sure it’s available for him.” “The future is in question here. I want to make sure our fisheries in Lake Michigan will be protected,” Ender added. Ender was among the people who listened to Lindsay Chadderton say that his DNA research tracking the Asian carp indicates the fish is already likely in Lake Michigan. Chadderton is part of a four-person team at Notre Dame that is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the invasive species problem. “What it says to us is that it means there is urgency. Some fish have made the lake, so we do need to start establishing strategies to prevent successful spawning,” Chadderton said. The Asian carp can grow up to four feet long and weight more than 100 pounds. They starve the sport fish in the waters where they live. Participants at the meeting say that will threaten the commercial and recreational use of the Great Lakes. They say that, in turn, will threaten travel, tourism, manufacturing and agri-business in Michigan. “We’re trying to fight off a water-borne alien. It could change our lakes and economy and what the Great Lakes state is all about,” Cox said. “We are absolutely in a race against the clock. We hope the Supreme Court will react after all the briefs get in tomorrow [Friday].” “The quickest answer to stop this problem from growing would be for the President to react and direct the Corps of Engineers to close these locks until we have another alternative,” Cox added. “The New York Times wrote about it today, saying President Obama should close down this super highway for invasive species. While some fish are in Lake Michigan, the game isn’t over. We can still stop them, but we have to act.” The state of Illinois is fighting the closure of the locks, citing economic concerns. However, Cox says that Illinois and other states along the Mississippi River should be concerned about invasive species in the Great Lakes, like zebra mussels and the gobi, getting into their waters. Denny Grinold, who runs a Grand Haven charter boat business, spoke at the meeting. He says only 2 invasive species [sea lampreys and alewives] of the 185 in the Great Lakes are under control. Attempts were made to poison the Asian carp in Illinois’ canal system within the past months. But the problem is that the poison takes out all the other desirable fish at the same time. An official with the Michigan Department of Nature Resources says that there is no higher priority for the department than fighting the Asian carp. He says once they invade, no man-made device can stop them. The Michigan Attorney General’s office has established a Web site devoted to the issue: www.stopasiancarp.com.