snowbird loop

[wescarroll]

So if they close the Chicago canal because of the snakehead carp, how will that affect the snowbirds? Will there be enough demand for a railroad or somethin to transferacross the barrier or will it just be abandoned?

[tager]

It seems like there will be a lot of demand for shipping of goods. Billions of dollars worth of trade moves through there, supporting thousands of jobs. I imagine that there will be some sort of rail transport to continue this. I don't think the canal will close, though. I imagine that there could be some sort of fish proof lock, but it would be quite a piece of engineering.

[krozet]

I vote to close it. Fish Proof Lock? You are betting the Great Lakes on that? Engineering eh? I remember the Unsinkable ship, which sunk...

[MARC2012]

By the time they decide what to do the fish will most likely be there.But not to worry the govt. will proceed anyway.Have A better idea in lieu of food stamps give the recipients a fishing pole & net.marc

[krozet]

Originally Posted by MARC2012

By the time they decide what to do the fish will most likely be there.But not to worry the govt. will proceed anyway.Have A better idea in lieu of food stamps give the recipients a fishing pole & net.marc

You are probably right.

[xsboats]

Maybe there is some kind of predator that they could import to eat the carp. With any luck, it will love zebra mussels as an appetizer and kudzu salads.

[krozet]

Originally Posted by xsboats

Maybe there is some kind of predator that they could import to eat the carp. With any luck, it will love zebra mussels as an appetizer and kudzu salads.

Every time humans have tried to control a species with another species it fails pretty miserably...

Ask someone from New Zealand about Possums that were introduced to start a fur trade and now threaten native species or goats that were introduced by the first European's.

Ask an Aussie about the Cane Toad introduced to control Cane Beetle and is now a threat to native species. Or the Red Fox that was introduced for recreational hunting and is listed an an extreme threat in the wild.

Ask a Brit about the grey squirrel, introduced and now it has displaced the smaller native red squirrel and killing native flora.

These are just a few of the thousands of examples of species that were introduced on purpose to a new ecosystem, not to mention the accidental introductions that happen.

We need to learn from the past and realize that we cannot be so arrogant as to think that we can shape nature. The black and white is that if the Carp make it to the Great Lakes it will wreak havoc and there is to 'control' over the situation. As a boater I would love to have access to the Great Loop but as someone that grew up on the Great Lakes I cannot look past the potential threat.

Just my 2 cents.

[kwaltersmi]

Let me first state I don't want any of the four invasive species of carp to become residents in the Great Lakes. If they do, I'm certain the impacts will be widespread ecologically, socially and economically.

However, I also see a lot of irony in "preserving the ecological" of the Great Lakes. The majority of fish species found in the lakes today are not native. They have either been intentially introduced such as the Pacific salmonids or accidentally introduced such as the round goby.

I whole-heartedly believe we should do whatever possible to stop new invasions and slow the spread of existing invasions, but we also need to realize that the natural of ecology of the Great Lakes was permanently changed long ago. The Great Lakes ecosystem has been forever altered from its' natural state.

[CaptainForce]

Originally Posted by kwaltersmi

............. The Great Lakes ecosystem has been forever altered from its' natural state.

The Great Lakes ecosystem has been forever altered from it's FORMER state. Change isn't always pleasant, but it is natural.

[kwaltersmi]

Captain, with all due respect: I wouldn't say intentional introductions of fish species are natural changes.