Daily BrewBorder seizure of invasive Asian carp alarms officials
The seizure of more than six tonnes of Asian carp by Canada Border Services agents this month has alarmed experts worried about the big fish's potential threat to the Great Lakes.
The live fish were discovered and seized in two separate shipments on the Canadian side of the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ont., according to Postmedia News.
"The Americans have put $78 million into trying to detect where the fish are and to make sure they don't get into the Great Lakes at Chicago," said Hugh MacIsaac, an expert on invasive aquatic species at the University of Windsor.
"And here on the other hand we still have people shipping these things around as though it's legal and advisable, and it's neither."
The Great Lakes Fishery Commission says Asian carp are "a significant threat" to the lakes. They can grow up to almost a metre in length and weigh up to 40 kilograms, compete for food with native species and would eventually become the dominant fish in the lakes.
Asian carp have moved steadily northward after escaping from a Mississippi River fish farm that flooded in the early 1990s. Despite attempts to block their progress with things like electric barriers, the carp have been spotted about 65 kilometres from Lake Michigan.
Video of Asian carp jumping into boats has been a YouTube staple for years.
It's been against the law to possess live Asian carp in Ontario since 2005.
Customs agents did not give details about the seizures because the investigation was still open. But the discoveries spurred MacIsaac to wonder if border agents were catching all the shipments. He called for heavy fines against violators. The largest fine so far was $60,000 for a second offence.
The Detroit News reported that despite the 2005 ban, demand remains high for the fish in Toronto's Asian markets.
"The concern, of course, is that the carp will get entrenched here," Jolanta Kowalski, a spokeswoman with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, told the Detroit News. "And they've got a history that's not a good one in terms of what they do once they're established."
