Asian Carp

 

Prevention

 

The Canadian government (especially Ontario) has put keeping the Asian Carp out of Canadian waters a top priority. The best protection the Great Lakes have at the moment is the $2.2 million electric fish barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. It was competed in April 2002 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was placed there because it is the only aquatic passage between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes (located within 40 km of Lake Michigan). This was a prototype but was replaced by a permanent one in 2004. The way it works is that it uses a low electrical current charge to repel fish like the grass, sliver and big-head carp which have escaped into the wild. Also in May of 2004, the Ontario government put ban on buying and selling live big-head, black, silver, and grass carp to prevent accidental and intentional releases because once the carps are established they are almost impossible to control. Then in 2005, the Ontario government put a provincial ban on the possession of live Asian carps excluding the common carp because it is a popular sporting fish. Also, baby carp are often mixed up with bait species and as a result it has caused intentional bait release into different areas which helps them spread. Fishers are asked to find out about their bait to avoid that. One of the best methods is reporting early sightings because it can help to slow or even stop the spread of carps.

 

Some tips that you can follow is:

 

• Learn how to identify grass, big-head, and silver carp
• Instead of releasing bait into the water, get rid of it properly
• Always drain water from your boat, live well, and bilge before leaving any  body of water
• Never dip your bait bucket into a body of water if it has water from another source
• Never put live fish from one body of water into another

 

Have you seen an Asian Carp?

If you have then the best thing to do is report it to the government. Below there are a few organizations you could contact:

 

O.F.A.H. Invading Species Program
4601 Guthrie Drive
P.O. Box 2800
Peterborough, Ontario Canada
K9J 8L5
Fax: 705-748-9577

Invading Species Hotline at 1-800-563-7711 or visit http://www.invadingspecies.com/Report.cfm (Canada)

Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network (CAISN)

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research (GLIER)

University of Windsor
401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor Ontario, N9B 3P4

CAISN Management: (519) 253.3000 x3751
CAISN Communications: (519) 253.3000 x3755

Email: caisn@uwindsor.ca

 

Ministry Natural Resources

1-800-667-1940

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/ContactUs/index.html

PEI Fisheries & Aquaculture Division (PEI-DAFA)

at 902-368-6330

 

Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) at 902-566-7812

PEI Aquaculture Alliance (PEI) at 902-368-2757