GLIN==> Press Release: Great Lakes Fishery Commission and Great Lakes Fishery Trust Reaffirm 2008 "Separation Study" for Chicago Canal

Posted on behalf of Marc Gaden, Great Lakes Fishery Commission
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For Immediate Release: December 22, 2009
 
Contacts: 
Mark Coscarelli (Great Lakes Fishery Trust), 517-371-7461
Marc Gaden (Great Lakes Fishery Commission), 734-417-8012 
GREAT LAKES FISHERY COMMISSION AND GREAT LAKES FISHERY TRUST REAFFIRM 2008
"SEPARATION STUDY" FOR CHICAGO CANAL 

Report, motivated by Asian carp migration toward the Great Lakes, becomes
more relevant in light of the detection of carp in the canal and recent
rapid response 

Ann Arbor, MI: The recent chemical treatment of the Chicago Sanitary and
Ship Canal, designed to allow safe disengagement of the electrical "carp
barrier," has brought new urgency to the need for a permanent solution to
stop the threat of invasive species moving into the Great Lakes. The
chemical treatment, which confirmed the presence of Asian carp at the site
of the electrical barrier, and new DNA testing, which suggests that Asian
carp may be within five miles of Lake Michigan, has reinvigorated the call
to achieve "biological separation" on the canal, a move that would eliminate
the possibility of species-transfer between the Great Lakes and the
Mississippi River watersheds via the canal. Such separation is the same
conclusion reached in a 2008 report, Preliminary Feasibility of Ecological
Separation of the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes to Prevent the
Transfer of Aquatic Invasive Species, conducted by the Alliance for the
Great Lakes and funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Great
Lakes Fishery Trust. The report assesses potential options to prevent
invasive species, including the Asian carp, from entering the Great Lakes
and concludes that biological separation of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship
Canal from Lake Michigan is the best option. 

The report provides a systematic look at commercial and recreational vessel
traffic on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and notes that with new
technology and infrastructure changes, a long-term solution to prevent
species migration between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River is
possible. While some impacts to navigation would be unavoidable, biological
separation would allow continued use of the system for wastewater disposal
and minimize impacts to commodity movements and recreational boaters. 

The study was funded pursuant to a recommendation from the Invasive Species
Summit convened in 2003 by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley that called for a
project to examine long-term solutions to reduce the risk of invasive
species in the waterway. The study demonstrated that the engineering
expertise exists today to protect the Great Lakes from species invading via
the canal. 

Great Lakes Fishery Commission chair Michael Hansen, a professor at the
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, encourages swift action: "With the
benefit of hindsight, the Great Lakes and Mississippi systems should never
have been connected in so direct a way. Our task now is to move forward on
implementing permanent and effective solutions to the threat that this
waterway poses. The commission calls upon the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
to help expedite the completion of this essential project." 

"We know from experience that once invasive species arrive in the Great
Lakes they are here to stay," said Mark Coscarelli, Manager and Secretary of
the Great Lakes Fishery Trust. "It's like trying to put a genie back in the
bottle. Preventing the introduction of invasive species is the best option
for protecting the Great Lakes." 

The complete report produced by the Alliance for the Great Lakes is
available on the Alliance's website at
www.greatlakes.org/invasivespecies/gateways. 

 

The Great Lakes Fishery Trust is an innovative funding program created in
1996 as part of a settlement with Consumers Energy and the Detroit Edison
Company for fish losses caused by the operation of the Ludington Pumped
Storage Plant on Lake Michigan. The trust provides funding to educational
institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies to improve
and protect the Great Lakes fishery. 

The Great Lakes Fishery Commission was established by the United States and
Canada through the 1954 Convention on Great Lakes Fisheries. The commission
supports fisheries research, controls the invasive sea lamprey, and
facilitates the implementation of provincial, state, and tribal fisheries
management agreements. For more information about the commission, visit
www.glfc.int. 

 
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