The possibility of Asian carp entering the Great Lakes is a huge problem that is expensive and time consuming to solve. The U.S. Army Corp. of engineers is currently assessing possible barriers to keep the Asian carp out of the waters of the Great Lakes (http://www.ibtimes.com/ending-asian-carp-threat-great-lakes-will-take-25-years-more-18b-yet-recommended-strategies-might). At the moment the huge fish are being kept out of the Great Lakes by using electric fences (http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/natural-disasters/how-to-stop-the-carp-invasion). These are affective for now but they have failed to some extent, since Asian carp DNA has already been found in Lake Michigan. The Asian carp pose a serious threat to the economy of Michigan and neighboring states as well as the natural environment. If the government does not act quickly then these terrifying fish will invade the Great Lakes.
Asian carp were first imported to the United States from Southeast Asia in the 1970’s in order to filter pond water in Arkansas. They are actually three different species of carp, Black carp, Silver carp, and Bighead carp (www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/invasive-Species/Asian-Carp.aspx). Silver carp can grow up to thirty-nine inches and sixty pounds. Bighead car are even larger, at sixty inches and one-hundred-ten pounds (www.healthywatersolutions.org/content/asian-carp-facts). They have extremely sensitive ears due to a small bone connecting their swimming bladder to their inner ear called the Werberian apparatus (http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/natural-disasters/how-to-stop-the-carp-invasion). Because of these sensitive ears they jump out of the water when startled. This makes them extremely dan...
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...t, but also the economy of Michigan and other states around the Great Lakes. The U.S. Army Corps of engineers has been researching possible solutions to the problem but if the government does not act fast, then 5 percent of the global market will be destroyed and a huge environment will be invaded. Life would be very different in states surrounding the Great Lakes if this terrible threat is not avoided.
Works Cited:
www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/invasive-Species/Asian-Carp.aspx
http://www.ibtimes.com/ending-asian-carp-threat-great-lakes-will-take-25-years-more-18b-yet-recommended-strategies-might
http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/natural-disasters/how-to-stop-the-carp-invasion
www.healthywatersolutions.org/content/asian-carp-facts
http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/invasive_species/asian_carp.html
As if there weren’t enough problems for scientists trying to save the Great Lakes Eco System. Many non-native species have entered the eco system and many of them are harmful. Every species in itself has played a role in the eco system. These non-native species make it increasingly difficult for the Great Lakes Eco System to be regulated.
There needs to be a reduction in emissions, yet we cannot focus on this aspect of global warming alone. There are many indicators that climatic change is influencing the frequency and intensity of natural catastrophes. If scientific global climate models are accurate, the present problems will be magnified in the near future. Already scientists have observed that more than 75% of the recent economic losses are caused by natural hazards, which can be attributed to wind storms, floods, droughts and other climate-related hazards. In the year 2008, the U.S. state of Iowa was on the front pages of newspapers all around the world.
Invasive species do not only affect other species in their ecosystem, but also cost the United States more than one hundred and twenty million dollars each year in damages (“Cost” par. 2). Invasive species come in all different forms, and all have a negative impact on the environment. These species can come into a new area without being detected at first, but as time goes on their effects can soon be seen. Efforts are being made to prevent these invasive species from destroying fish population and habitat, but in order to be successful they need to be done on a much larger scale. In order to protect Wisconsin's waters, which are already infected with many invasive species that cause great damage to our bodies of water, more actions need to be taken. It is vital to remove all invasive species from Wisconsin’s waters because it will improve fish habitat, native fish population, and water quality.
The term "Asian carp" has been used to include the species that pose an immediate threat to the wildlife. While the Michigan Department of Natural Resources pose a significant threat to the biological community and recreational opportunities, in the Great Lakes region it is especially concerned with the bighead and silver carp. There are four types of carp known as bighead, black, silver and big head and silver carp can get up to one hundred pounds and grow up to five feet. Black carp can weigh up to one hundred fifty pounds (D’Arcy Eg...
As global temperatures and ocean levels rise, the water levels of the Great Lakes continues to fall. As the lakes hit their all time lowest level in global history in 2012, society remains ignorant to the imposing doom that lurks ahead. Since the Great Lakes make up the largest group of fresh water lakes on Earth and are responsible for approximately 21% of the Earth’s fresh water supply, this issue is becoming one of the largest environmental and economical issues our modern world faces. The effects of this issue include destroying animal habitats and a major economic market; shipping. Water levels in the Great Lakes have been dropping for the past fourteen years, but it wasn’t until boats were scraping the bottom of Lake Huron that people began to take notice. This terrible environmental issue has been dubbed a long term cycle of over evaporation and not enough precipitation to replenish the Lakes. Keith Kompoltowicz, chief of watershed hydrology for the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit has been monitoring this issue for a decade and has made startling discoveries, such as in 2012, he discovered Lake Michigan and Lake Huron’s water levels only rose four inches after winter, whereas the Lakes have been regularly recorded as gaining a foot of water after the winter season had ended. This amount of water added is not enough to maintain a proper water level during the dry, hot summer seasons that evaporate much water from the Great Lakes. While some scientists say that this is just a cycle that will adjust itself naturally, most experts that have been studying this phenomenon, such as Kompoltwicz, would agree that the issue has gone to far
The American Great Lakes; Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario make up 21% of the world’s surface, fresh water. These lakes are home to a variety of wildlife species and fish that are a concern. The lakes also provide drinking water for 40 million people. Commercial fishing, sport fishing and Native American fishing are the major industries providing jobs in the Great Lakes Region and this impacts the fragile ecosystem. The urban runoff and sprawl, sewage disposal, agriculture and toxic industrial waste also affect human health, fish populations, and aquatic food chains. The Great Lakes Restoration initiative is the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades. There is a task force of 11 federal agencies that developed an action plan to implement the initiative. The action plan is to cover fiscal years 2010-2014 and addressed five urgent issues. Those issues include; 1. Cleaning up toxics and areas of concern. 2. Combating invasive species, 3. Promoting nearshore health by protecting watersheds from polluted runoff, 4. Restoring wetlands and other habitats. 5. Tracking progress and working with strategic partners. In 2012 and 2013 with the input of citizens 3 key priorities helped to guide the restoration project. They were cleaning up areas of concern, reducing nutrients entering the lakes and preventing the introduction of new, invasive species. New technologies, such as a swimming video camera and an all-terrain robot, are granting researchers their first glimpse of a region critical to the Great Lakes’ health.
... North America, steelheads are found in Pacific Ocean drainage from southern California through Alaska. In Oregon they are found throughout the Columbia River. The major factor causing steelhead population decline is freshwater habitat loss and degradation. This has resulted from three main factors: inadequate stream flows, blocked access to historic spawning and rearing areas due to dams, and human activities that discharge sediment and debris into waterways.
Carp are generally great fighters that can gain a pretty impressive size. In the great lakes areas fish of 30 lbs or more are not uncommon. Because of this we highly recommend using an outfit that can handle the size of one of these massive fish. An 8 or 9 weight rod with a disc drag reel and plenty of backing is needed to target Carp in most areas. Because they
This includes using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) solutions. What is IPM? IPM is a “planned program that coordinates economically and environmentally acceptable methods of pest control with the judicious and minimal use of toxic pesticides” (“Integrated Pest management,” 1). These programs use a careful assessment of local conditions that factor in climate, soil quality, and government regulations. A few examples of using an IPM strategy would be to introduce fish such as triploid grass carp or other biological control agents. There are many factors to consider before introducing a species to a habitat. First, you must identify the vegetation that needs to be controlled. In this case, Elodea is that vegetation. Grass carp does prefer pondweeds and hydrilla as a food source, but it does eat Elodea. The benefits of using triploid grass carp are many and by far outweigh any negative aspect of introducing them to new water habitat. They are inexpensive, are sterile and will not reproduce, feed only on plants, do not feed on young fishes or fish eggs, live for at least ten years, are difficult to catch using conventional methods of fishing, are dormant in the winter until the water temperatures reach sixty-eight degrees then resume extensive feeding, and they feed from the top of the plant downward (“Will Triploid Grass Carp Work for You?”). An added benefit of
There is no denying the presences of the Great Lakes, not only are they unavoidable, but they have also been a major player in the growing of civilization in North America and Canada. A person would have to live under a rock, no pun intended, to not know about these phenomenons. Most would ask from where did these Great Lakes come? How did they form? How are they beneficial? What are some of the Great Lakes here? A Great Lake is an extremely large inland freshwater sea, which is amazing since we are surround by oceans occupied with salt water. The Great Lakes are the largest system of fresh surface water on Earth, which makes them vital to our survival. However, they have been subject to damage by pollutants. There are five lakes in North America, which are: Lake Michigan, Huron, Erie, Superior, and Ontario. Not many people take the time to try to understand our Great Lakes or the importance of them. Coming to understand what these Great Lakes are, how they got here, and how they are beneficial to our ecosystem will ultimately help us further appreciate their vital diversity and encourage us to preserve them.
The Great Lakes provide almost half the water for the residents of Ontario. The Great Lakes also provides water to residents in Thunder Bay, Port Hope, Sault St Marie, Niagara and many parts of The United States to name a few. With 70% of the Earth covered in water only 0.1% of it is clean accessible drinking water. The Great Lakes plays a major role in helping to provide water for people that live near the American/Canadian border. However this resource is being mistreated. Water pollution is a growing problem in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes is being contaminated by pollutants that are released for direct and indirect sources without proper treatment. This is causing the lake to being polluted with harmful chemicals. By identifying the cause we can take initiative to help conserve the Great Lakes and to help restore it to its natural beauty.
My friend had invited me along with him and his family to the ocean. It was vacation for the family, but for him and me it was the beginning of a week of serious business. We had an obsessive hobby to pursue. As avid and long-term freshwater fisherman, we were thrilled by the thought of catching those large and exotic saltwater fish we had seen on television a billion times before. Yet little did we expect there to be such vast differences between our freshwater fishing and the saltwater fishing, which we were about to pursue. We learned through trial and much error that in order to have a successful saltwater fishing experience we had to make adjustments to all the freshwater tackle, tactics, and gear we knew.
The consequences of their arrival are felt—on the riverbank, in public hearing rooms, and in hatcheries—to this very day. Indeed, it is not too far fetched to suggest that the ongoing story of trout in American waters—native and introduced, threatened and thriving—is a fair reflection of our own restless history, with its marathon migrations, its outbursts of prejudice, its well-intentioned blunders and its reassuring urge to set those blunders right again.
• You need to know that fish has senses. They can hear, taste, see, and smell. They have lateral line which helps them to detect movement in water. When they are in danger, they can run away. You will really have to watch your movements because you do not want to go away with empty hands.
“Aquifer depletion is a largely invisible threat, but that does not make it any less real.” The quote from futurist, Lester Brown, predicted our devastating situation that is now affecting billions, which is all but invisible. It is 2075 and the Ollega Aquifer that takes up most of middle America is completely empty up and the Central Valley Aquifer is now at a dismal five percent. The water crisis is affecting our major cities, but there was time where the water crisis was mostly ignored back in 2017.