Scientist Fear Leaping Carp Will Invade Great Lakes

Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers wrote:

And your credentials are what? You can post on a newsgroup? Somehow I'll
believe In-Fisherman. They're not exactly newbies to fishing, fish, the
environment and understanding the interplay between the three. You don't
even understand how a fish barrier works!

I should have read the story first to read that there's an electric
barrier. A recent PBS show about invasive species mentioned the
barrier without saying it's electric; a shot of the barrier made it
look like fish could pass through when it was open for ships to pass
through.

There could be a power outage. The fish could leap into boats just
before the boat crosses the barrier, then leap out after the boat is
past the barrier. I don't believe the barrier will be completely
effective in keeping them out of Lake Michigan.

The Bighead and Silver Carp are also in the Ohio system. Aren't there
canals connecting Lake Erie with the Ohio system?

My jab at In-Fisherman is based on an article from 5+ years ago about
the effect of Zebra Mussels in Lake Erie. In-Fisherman implied the
Zebra Mussels were beneficial because they increased water clarity in
the lake, and In-Fisherman listed a correlation (that is definitely NOT
causation) of improved Smallmouth fishing in Lake Erie, implying the
Zebra Mussels caused better Smallmouth fishing.

In-Fisherman has some unrealistic attitudes such as "God created people
to rule over all animals; fish were put on earth to be killed and eaten
by meathogs".

In-Fisherman also bases a lot of its material on government- and
corporate-funded scientific research. Many of the scientists are the
same people who recommended bringing invasive species (Grass Carp,
Bighead Carp, etc) to the USA in the first place.

In-Fisherman and other magazines are also slaves to advertisers who
sell the big boats that transfer Zebra Mussel larvae from one body of
water to another.

In reality, the improved Smallmouth fishing is a result of decreased
pollution. After bottoming out when the river caught fire, awareness
and public pressure resulted in a decrease in pollution. The
Smallmouth came back when pollution fell.

The Zebra Mussels in Lake Erie make the lake sterile, killing the
building blocks of the food chain. If the populations of large fish in
Erie haven't already collapsed, they probably will soon.