A New Threat To Our Fisheries

Every now and then someone gets a brilliant idea to import an exotic species to fix some problem. The Asian Beetle is one example of this. Anyone who has a houseful of these little stinkers in the fall knows what a mess they are.

Now the Mississippi basin is being attacked by yet another invasive species, the Asian Carp. They were introduced in the south to help keep wastewater ponds clean. Of course there were floods and now they are spreading all over the country. They are poised to enter the Mississippi via the Chicago Ship Canal and once in this system, they will spread out across the entire region.

Why worry about them? Well they eat everything in sight and breed like there is no tomorrow. In a short time they force the native species out and if they aren’t stopped, there will be nothing but Asian Carp in our waters. Not a pleasant thought.

They do have a funny habit of leaping from the water when a boat passes. While it makes funny videos for TV, they have been known to injure boaters when they jump into a moving boat. So, for now, keep your fingers crossed, but it’s doubtful we can stop them. It’s hard to stop Mother Nature.

Dan Bomkamp - Author of "The Adventures of Thunderfoot"
Host of the radio show "How's Fishing"

Southwest Wisconsin Real Estate