FROM THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
Agreement will Boost Commercial Fishing Industry,
Creates 180 Jobs
CHICAGO – July 13, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today announced a new initiative to stop the spread of invasive Asian carp species into the Great Lakes. Illinois is entering into a public-private partnership that will reduce Asian carp populations where they have been discovered in Illinois waters. This first-of-its-kind partnership will help enhance the commercial fishing industry, create approximately 180 jobs and relieve pressure on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Electric Barrier System designed to stop fish from moving further towards Lake Michigan.
“Protecting the Great Lakes is vital to millions of people from Illinois and throughout the Midwest who rely on these waterways for their livelihoods,” said Governor Quinn. “Today’s agreement is one of the most aggressive efforts to address the Asian carp problem, and is a critical step to long-term economic sustainability and the success of the commercial fishing industry.”
Illinois is entering into an agreement with Chinese meat processing company Beijing Zhuochen Animal Husbandry Company and Big River Fisheries located in Pearl, Ill. to harvest 30 million pounds of carp from Illinois rivers. Big River will process, package and ship the fish to Zhuochen for resale in international markets where the fish is a delicacy. The company is expected to harvest at least 30 million pounds of fish for the purpose of this agreement by the end of 2011.
The state, through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, will invest $2 million in capital funds to help Big River retrofit its existing facility, increase its processing capacity and expand to new production facilities in Pittsfield, which will create 61 new jobs and 120 indirect jobs. Commercial fishermen, contracted by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, have already started removing Asian carp in the Illinois River where populations exist.
“The high quality and taste of the wild Asian carp from Big River Fish far exceeded our expectations. We see a tremendous market in China for the wild Asian carp,” said Mr. Liang Chang, Chairman, Beijing Zhuochen Animal Husbandry. “As Big River Fish's production capacity increases, we will be able to expand our marketing efforts in China.”
“Big River Fish can now retrofit and expand its facilities to meet our production commitment to Zhuochen,” said Mr. Rick Smith, President, Big River Fish Corp. “The Asian carp can become an economic engine for Illinois rather than a threat, and we thank Governor Quinn for his support of our efforts.”
Today’s announcement builds on the state’s existing efforts to stop the spread of Asian carp. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources, in conjunction with the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC), has established an Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework, which includes both short- and long- term actions intended to keep Asian carp from establishing populations in the Great Lakes. These measures include:
• Operations to reduce propagule pressure on barriers
• Increased fish collection efforts and population suppression
• Evaluation of current suppression tools, as well as future fish suppression activities
• Emergency measures to prevent bypass of fish between the Des Plaines River and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC), as well as between the Illinois &Michigan Canal and the CSSC during flood events
• Increased biological control efforts
• Construction of a third electric barrier
To view the entire control framework, or to learn more about the efforts of the ACRCC, visit www.asiancarp.org.
In June, a Bighead Asian carp was found in Lake Calumet along the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). This is the first physical specimen that has been found in the CAWS above the Electric Barrier System. Since the find, Illinois along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and commercial fishermen have intensely sampled both Lake Calumet and the Calumet River leading to Lake Michigan. No other Asian carp have been found in the Chicago area waterway system to date.
Showing posts with label asian carp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label asian carp. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Durbin, Biggert to Host Wednesday Meeting of Great Lakes Leaders to Chart Path Forward on Asian Carp Containment
From the Office of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-IL) today announced that they have called a meeting of House and Senate leaders from states surrounding the Great Lakes to chart a path forward in the effort to contain Asian carp in Illinois. The meeting – to be held on Wednesday, January 27 at 9:00 AM ET in Room 215 of the Senate Visitors Center – will be attended by both Assistant Secretary of the Army, Jo-Ellen Darcy, who oversees the Army Corps of Engineers and Cameron Davis, Senior Advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency for Great Lakes issues.
“In the coming weeks, the White House Council on Environmental Quality will meet with Midwestern governors to discuss the Asian carp issue. It’s now time to bring members of Congress representing the Great Lakes states together in advance of that meeting to discuss a path forward,” said Durbin. “We must all work together – governors, Congress and the Administration – to find a solution that will protect our lakes, while preserving jobs and promoting economic activity in the region.”
“Illinois has been leading the charge to contain these invasive species from day one, but the Asian carp are a very real threat to every state, region, and locality that shares our concern about the Great Lakes,” said Biggert. “Working together, I am confident that we can stop these carp and preserve all the environmental and economic treasures afforded to us by the Great Lakes. I’m pleased to join Senator Durbin in bringing together lawmakers from across the region to examine the latest evidence of the carp’s movement, discuss the steps we’ve already taken, and urge our colleagues to join us in pressing ahead with sound solutions based on the best science available.”
On January 12, Durbin and Biggert hosted a briefing by federal, state and local officials at the Shedd Aquarium regarding the containment of Asian carp in Illinois. Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the City of Chicago, the Office of the Attorney General, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources all provided perspectives on the current situation, further mitigation options, and likely next steps.
If the carp reach Lake Michigan, they have the potential to damage the economy and ecosystem of the Great Lakes region, where the fishing industry alone is valued at $7 billion annually. Yet the community and economic implications of closing the locks of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal must be considered. The shipping industry used the canal to move nearly 7 million tons of cargo in 2008 through the O’Brien and Chicago locks, and the Army Corps estimates that closing the O’Brien lock alone would back-flood 14,000 homes.
Durbin and Biggert have a long history of working together to combat the spread of Asian carp, and from FY2003 through FY2010 they have secured more than $25 million in federal funding to contain the invasive species, and to keep it from entering Lake Michigan. State and federal agencies have already spent millions of dollars to contain the fish, particularly through the electric Asian Carp Barrier project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Since 1998, the barrier project has received $41.2 million in federal funding. The Obama administration recently launched a $475 million comprehensive Great Lakes initiative which provides a regional approach to controlling invasive species, reducing non-point-source pollution, and cleaning up contaminated sediment.
In the fall of 2009, Asian carp genetic material was found in regular water testing of the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal. Genetic material has also been found both in the Calumet River near Wilmette and in Lake Michigan. Through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the State of Illinois, in collaboration with the relevant federal agencies, took an unprecedented $700,000 effort and applied Rotenone to six miles of the Canal to kill any Asian carp near the barrier. In addition to finding positive eDNA in the Canal, genetic material was also found in the Des Plaines River, north of the electric dispersal barrier.
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-IL) today announced that they have called a meeting of House and Senate leaders from states surrounding the Great Lakes to chart a path forward in the effort to contain Asian carp in Illinois. The meeting – to be held on Wednesday, January 27 at 9:00 AM ET in Room 215 of the Senate Visitors Center – will be attended by both Assistant Secretary of the Army, Jo-Ellen Darcy, who oversees the Army Corps of Engineers and Cameron Davis, Senior Advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency for Great Lakes issues.
“In the coming weeks, the White House Council on Environmental Quality will meet with Midwestern governors to discuss the Asian carp issue. It’s now time to bring members of Congress representing the Great Lakes states together in advance of that meeting to discuss a path forward,” said Durbin. “We must all work together – governors, Congress and the Administration – to find a solution that will protect our lakes, while preserving jobs and promoting economic activity in the region.”
“Illinois has been leading the charge to contain these invasive species from day one, but the Asian carp are a very real threat to every state, region, and locality that shares our concern about the Great Lakes,” said Biggert. “Working together, I am confident that we can stop these carp and preserve all the environmental and economic treasures afforded to us by the Great Lakes. I’m pleased to join Senator Durbin in bringing together lawmakers from across the region to examine the latest evidence of the carp’s movement, discuss the steps we’ve already taken, and urge our colleagues to join us in pressing ahead with sound solutions based on the best science available.”
On January 12, Durbin and Biggert hosted a briefing by federal, state and local officials at the Shedd Aquarium regarding the containment of Asian carp in Illinois. Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, the City of Chicago, the Office of the Attorney General, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources all provided perspectives on the current situation, further mitigation options, and likely next steps.
If the carp reach Lake Michigan, they have the potential to damage the economy and ecosystem of the Great Lakes region, where the fishing industry alone is valued at $7 billion annually. Yet the community and economic implications of closing the locks of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal must be considered. The shipping industry used the canal to move nearly 7 million tons of cargo in 2008 through the O’Brien and Chicago locks, and the Army Corps estimates that closing the O’Brien lock alone would back-flood 14,000 homes.
Durbin and Biggert have a long history of working together to combat the spread of Asian carp, and from FY2003 through FY2010 they have secured more than $25 million in federal funding to contain the invasive species, and to keep it from entering Lake Michigan. State and federal agencies have already spent millions of dollars to contain the fish, particularly through the electric Asian Carp Barrier project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Since 1998, the barrier project has received $41.2 million in federal funding. The Obama administration recently launched a $475 million comprehensive Great Lakes initiative which provides a regional approach to controlling invasive species, reducing non-point-source pollution, and cleaning up contaminated sediment.
In the fall of 2009, Asian carp genetic material was found in regular water testing of the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal. Genetic material has also been found both in the Calumet River near Wilmette and in Lake Michigan. Through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the State of Illinois, in collaboration with the relevant federal agencies, took an unprecedented $700,000 effort and applied Rotenone to six miles of the Canal to kill any Asian carp near the barrier. In addition to finding positive eDNA in the Canal, genetic material was also found in the Des Plaines River, north of the electric dispersal barrier.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Congress Approves More Than $6.5 Million in Federal Funding for Asian Carp Barrier
From the Office of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Congress has approved $6.537 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to continue operation and construction on the Asian Carp Barrier project. The Omnibus Appropriations Act included funding for the barrier project which will prevent the spread of invasive species, including Asian Carp, between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
“The Asian Carp threatens both the native fish and natural wildlife of the lake and in turn, the economy of the entire Great Lakes region,” said Durbin. “Currently, this invasive species threatens the sport and commercial fishing industry in the Great Lakes. The Army Corps has made it clear that both a backup and a primary barrier are needed to prevent these harmful fish from entering the waters of the Great Lakes. In addition to funding both barriers this year, I worked to secure funding for a study to investigate prevention technologies.”
Asian Carp threaten the Great Lakes ecosystem because they consume large quantities of phytoplankton, which is critical to the stability of the ecosystem. Originally, they were introduced to the United States as a management tool for aqua culture farms and sewage treatment facilities. The carp have made their way north to the Illinois River after escaping from fish farms during massive flooding along the Mississippi River. Asian Carp can grow to an average of four feet and 60 pounds, and can consume up to 40 percent of their body weight in plankton per day.
Specifically, today’s legislation
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that Congress has approved $6.537 million for the Army Corps of Engineers to continue operation and construction on the Asian Carp Barrier project. The Omnibus Appropriations Act included funding for the barrier project which will prevent the spread of invasive species, including Asian Carp, between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basins through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.
“The Asian Carp threatens both the native fish and natural wildlife of the lake and in turn, the economy of the entire Great Lakes region,” said Durbin. “Currently, this invasive species threatens the sport and commercial fishing industry in the Great Lakes. The Army Corps has made it clear that both a backup and a primary barrier are needed to prevent these harmful fish from entering the waters of the Great Lakes. In addition to funding both barriers this year, I worked to secure funding for a study to investigate prevention technologies.”
Asian Carp threaten the Great Lakes ecosystem because they consume large quantities of phytoplankton, which is critical to the stability of the ecosystem. Originally, they were introduced to the United States as a management tool for aqua culture farms and sewage treatment facilities. The carp have made their way north to the Illinois River after escaping from fish farms during massive flooding along the Mississippi River. Asian Carp can grow to an average of four feet and 60 pounds, and can consume up to 40 percent of their body weight in plankton per day.
Specifically, today’s legislation
- Appropriates $6,250,000 to make permanent a system to eliminate potential bypasses of non-indigenous aquatic nuisance species such as the Asian Carp. Funding would also keep the current demonstration barrier operational and begin construction to make permanent the first demonstration barrier.
- $287,000 to initiate a study, including consultations with appropriate Federal, State, local and non-governmental agencies on the range of options and technologies to prevent the inter-basin transfer of aquatic nuisance species.
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