COLUMBUS - Governor Bob Taft today expressed urgent support for cooperative state and federal action to prevent introduction of giant Asian carp and other invasive aquatic species into the waters of the Great Lakes Basin.
Taft's call for action was sent in letters to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, other Great Lakes governors, members of Ohio's Congressional delegation, co-chairs of the Congressional Great Lakes Task Force and the chair of the Energy and Water Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.
Describing Asian carp and other invasive species as "a threat that will ultimately lead to potentially overwhelming economic and ecological losses" for Ohio and other Great Lakes states, Taft called for "increased attention, action and funding" in preventing these invaders from entering the Great Lakes and their tributary streams.
"Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes that form the world's largest freshwater ecosystem are facing numerous new challenges that must be collectively addressed," Taft said. "Changes occurring within the Great Lakes often have significant and lasting effects, so action on this issue must be done quickly."
Asian carp, the most recent in a series of invasive aquatic species to threaten the Great Lakes ecosystem, are large, voracious fish imported in the 1960s into the Mississippi Valley states, where they were prized for their ability to clean vegetation and snails from commercial fish-farming ponds. Carp accidentally released from these ponds have migrated up the Mississippi River and into the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal, coming within a few miles of Lake Michigan and, potentially, all the waters of the Great Lakes Basin.
Taft's letters endorse the construction and permanent operation of an electronic barrier in the Chicago Ship and Sanitary Canal, similar to one installed last year as a temporary demonstration project. The barrier creates a harmless electronic field that prevents Asian carp from moving through the canal and into Lake Michigan.
Taft also called for increased federal funding, through re-authorization of the National Invasive Species Act (NISA), to focus on preventative measures that preclude the movement of Asian carp and other aquatic nuisance species to and from the Great Lakes. "I would encourage continued, accelerated and comprehensive investigation into a long-term solution for this issue," he said.
Aquatic nuisance species are non-native fish and aquatic animals that are accidentally or deliberately introduced into the Great Lakes, often from the ballast water of ships entering the lakes from overseas ports. Examples of such species that have entered the Great Lakes in recent years include the zebra mussel, round goby and sea lamprey.