Fish kill called necessary to save the Great Lakes

Saying ecosystem is threatened, officials use poison on invasive carp

By Kari Lydersen and Peter Slevin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 6, 2009

LOCKPORT, ILL. -- The poisoned fish began floating to the surface in the cold Illinois dawn, but as scientists and ecologists began hauling their lifeless catch to shore, they found only one carcass of the predator they targeted -- the ravenous Asian carp.

Never before have Illinois agencies tried to kill so many fish at one time. By the time the poison dissipates in a few days, state officials estimate that 200,000 pounds of fish will be bound for landfills. But they say the stakes -- the Great Lakes ecosystem and its healthy fish population -- could hardly be higher.

Asian carp have slowly been making their way up the Mississippi River and its tributaries, shifting the ecological balance as they devour enormous quantities of plankton that once sustained other species.

Neither prayers nor multimillion-dollar electronic fences have stopped the carp, which commonly grow to a fat-bellied four feet long. Amid fears that the fish are drawing closer to Lake Michigan on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, scientists turned to a poison called rotenone.

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