DNA Testing Shows Asian Carp Within 7 miles of Lake Michigan

There are new fears that Asian carp are getting closer to the Great Lakes.  According to two recent articles in the Chicago Tribune, DNA testing found evidence of the Asian carp within 7 miles of Lake Michigan after apparently leaping an electrical barrier erected to prevent the carp from reaching the Great Lakes. 

Scientists found Asian carp DNA above an electric fish-barrier in the Sanitary and Ship Canal.  Asian carp are now are only one lock and dam away from the Great Lakes.  The articles described the DNA testing:

"The tests sift carp DNA out of suspended particles floating in river currents, and they indicate for the first time that bighead and silver carp are just below the O'Brien lock on the Calumet River, in the Des Plaines River above the Lockport lock and at the confluence of the Calumet Sag Channel and Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. All three locations are above the multimillion-dollar electrified carp barrier built to keep invasive species from moving from the Illinois River to the Great Lakes, and vice versa."

"'There is no reason to think that there aren't carp present when the DNA is detected,' said David Lodge, a researcher with the University of Notre Dame who is conducting the genetic analysis. 'It's hard to come to any other conclusion other than that there are carp somewhere in the region.'"

Please click here and here to access the articles in the Tribune.  Stay tuned to the Illinois Environmental Law Blog for more news and developments.