GLIN==> Asian Carp, international joint resolution press release

Committee of Advisors

to the

Great Lakes Fishery Commission

MEDIA ADVISORY: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Denny Grinold, Chair, U.S. Commission Committee of Advisors: (517) 819-7991

John Jackson, Chair, Canadian Committee of Advisors: (519) 744-7503

GREAT LAKES FISHING INTERESTS URGE ECOLOGICAL SEPARATION

TO COMBAT ASIAN CARP

Binational advisory committee to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission

deeply frustrated over inaction

(April 8, 2010)-The bi-national committee of advisors of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission called

upon the U.S. government to seek immediately ecological separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi

basins, acknowledging the imminent threat of the voracious Asian carp. The call - which came in the

form of a rare binational resolution, approved during the advisors meetings in Windsor, Ontario -

Congress, the administration, and the states to act immediately to achieve ecological separation of the

two basins to prevent further aquatic species invasions.

The Asian carp are prolific, can grow as large as 4 feet long and 100 pounds, and eat a large percent of

their body weight daily in plankton, which is the base of the Great Lakes' food web. Canadian and U.S.

risk assessments have concluded that Asian carp would find the Great Lakes to be an inviting home. This

invasive species would likely cause irreparable damage to the $7 billion fishery.

The Asian carp are currently in the Chicago Area Waterway System, an artificial canal system that

connects the Mississippi basin with the Great Lakes basin. While efforts are being undertaken to stop

the Asian carp, such as the operation of electric barriers, rotenone treatments, eDNA and traditional

sampling, there is a growing support for the ecological separation of the Mississippi and Great Lakes

waters. Ecological separation would ensure that no live organisms could move between the two basins,

a protection that the natural watershed divide provided.

The Great Lakes have now been invaded by more than 180 non-native species, and the fisheries have

paid the price. "We simply cannot tolerate even one more invasion," said U.S. committee chair Denny

Grinold from the Michigan Charter Boat Association. "An Asian carp invasion is preventable, but the

federal government must commit to the solution of separating Mississippi waters from the Great Lakes.

Otherwise, it is stakeholders like us, and the next generation, that will bear the steep economic and

ecological costs."

The Committee of Advisors consists of both U.S. and Canadian representatives, from First Nation,

commercial, recreational, academic, agency, and public fishery interests in the Great Lakes Basin.

Advisors provide advice to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission; U.S. advisors are nominated by the

State Governors, and appointed by the commission. Canadian advisors are nominated by the Ontario

Minister of Natural Resources and appointed by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The committee-representing recreational and commercial fishing, Aboriginal communities, public-atlarge,

academia, and state agencies-also expressed deep concern about the continued influx of aquatic

invasive species into the Great Lakes and disappointment over the Canadian and U.S. Governments'

inaction to remedy this serious problem.

"The resolution reflects widespread agreement across two countries that an Asian carp invasion is not

just an Illinois crisis, or a U.S. crisis-it's an international crisis," said John Jackson, Canadian committee

chair from Great Lakes United. "The only permanent solution- separation of the two basins- needs to be

pursued, and it needs to be pursued now. Today we join the growing chorus of interests calling for

ecological separation. It is our responsibility to ensure the Great Lakes are protected, not only from the

Asian carp, but also from tomorrow's invader that could move through the Chicago Area Waterway

System."

***

The U.S. Committee of Advisors was created under the Great Lakes Fisheries Act of 1956 and is

constituted to provide citizens with the opportunity to be heard on issues of importance to the health

and sustainability of the Great Lakes fishery and to make recommendations pertinent to the

commission's duties. Committee members are nominated to their positions by state governors and

represent sport fishing, commercial fishing, and the public-at-large. The Canadian Committee of

Advisors was established for similar purposes by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Canadian members are

co-nominated by the Ontario Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

and represent sport fishing, commercial fishing, the Aboriginal community, environmental interests, and

academia.
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