Asian Carp Invasion

By James Sheldon on June 24th, 2010

I couldn’t see the popularity of Asian Carp news and not offer a couple cents.

If you’re unaware of the latest WTF scare in the realm of mother nature, it seems that the dreadful Asian carp has made its way into the Great Lakes, after migrating from the American south up the mighty Mississippi. Out of fear of an infiltration, invasion and eventual infestation of what could easily be considered the ugliest fish in the world, electric barriers were placed along several of the Great Lakes tributaries to keep the fish out. At least one made it through.

Earlier this week, commercial fisherman caught a 20 pound Asian carp, measuring just over 3 feet in length in Chicago’s Lake Calumet–about 6 miles downstream of Lake Michigan. The problem with these fish is their insatiable appetite for nearly anything and everything. The fishing industry on the Great Lakes is a 7 billion dollar asset–local and multi-state officials don’t want it messed with. They like it as-is.

These carp can grow to over 4 feet in length, weighing over 100 pounds. They’re dense, muscular, meaty and as mentioned earlier, ugly as sin.

I grew up on a lake, and we’d always dare one another to jump into a crowd of carp when the unwitting tourists would “feed the fish” from local marinas. Personally, I’d rather swim with sharks. For some reason, these suckers just creep me out. They’re grotey to the max. I can still imagine a serious wrestling match with a singular carp, followed by the eventual gang-style beat down when the other 50 pounders came to slap me into submission…it all ending with the one really crazy fish possessing “daddy issues” saying, “Put your teeth on the dock, landlubber!” Digressing.

In Michigan, legislation is being pushed through at the state level to keep these alien fish from infiltrating the Great Lakes. The CARP Act (Close All Routes and Prevent Asian Carp Today–seriously, that’s what it’s called) was developed earlier this year, and now they are racing to enact it. They want any infiltrating fish to be captured, and/or destroyed.