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Illinois environmental officials will dump a
toxic chemical into a nearly 6-mile stretch of the Chicago Sanitary
and Ship Canal Wednesday to keep the voracious Asian carp from
entering the Great Lakes while an electrical barrier is turned off
for maintenance.


      The fish, which can grow to 4 feet long and 100 pounds and are
known to leap from the water at the sound of passing motors, have
been found within a few miles of Lake Michigan and there is
evidence they might have breached the barrier, designed to repel
them with a non-lethal jolt.


      Environmentalists fear the fish, which consume up to 40 percent
of their body weight daily in plankton, would starve out smaller
and less aggressive competitors and possibly lead to the collapse
of the Great Lakes sport and commercial fishing industry.


      The fish toxin rotenone will be spread Wednesday evening near
Lockport, Illinois Department of Natural Resources spokeswoman
Stacey Solano said. After about eight hours, crews will use large
cranes with nets to scoop up an estimated 200,000 pounds of dead
fish, she said.


      The carcasses will be disposed of in a landfill, Solano said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to perform the maintenance
on the barrier.


      "We just want to make sure that there is no possible way that
Asian carp can breach the barrier while it's down for
maintenance," Solano said. "That's the main objective of this
operation."


      Environmental groups say they support the operation, but are
urging federal officials to close three locks in the Chicago area
that lead to Lake Michigan until they can determine a permanent
solution.


      "If there ever is a last-ditch effort, this is it," said Joel
Brammeier, acting president of the Chicago-based Alliance for the
Great Lakes. "Everybody I talk to, I tell them we have to close
those locks."


      Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
officials said they are considering every alternative, but have not
made a decision on closing the locks.


      Asian carp escaped from Southern fish farms into the Mississippi
River during 1990s flooding and have been migrating northward
since.

      Last month, officials announced that DNA samples of the Asian
carp recently were found between the barrier and Lake Michigan,
although the fish had yet to be spotted in the area.


      Aside from decimating species prized by anglers and commercial
fishers, Asian carp are known to leap from the water at the sound
of passing motors and sometimes collide with boaters.

      Early Wednesday, the DNR will remove and relocate any sport fish
from the canal so they are not harmed by the rotenone, Solano said.
She estimated the cost of the operation at between $1 million and
$2 million.


      Solano said the rotenone should naturally dissipate after it is
spread, but the department will spread another chemical to help
accelerate that process. 

Rotenone has been used for 40 years in
Illinois, and "if used properly there should be no affect to
humans or other wildlife," she said.

Gallery

Asian carp may have invaded Great Lakes

Environmental News

Illinois environmental officials will dump a
toxic chemical into a stretch of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Wednesday,  to keep the voracious Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes while an electrical barrier is turned off
for maintenance.

Poison planned to keep Asian carp from Great Lakes

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