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Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Environment - Non-native species in Lake Michigan

"No snakeheads, but other critters surface" is the headline to this story in the Chicago Tribune this morning. Some quotes:

The first sweep of Burnham Harbor for the voracious snakehead fish today turned up seven species that are not native to Lake Michigan, but no sign of the dreaded predator that scientists fear could devastate the Great Lakes.

A day after they sank traps around the northern edge of the harbor, just east of Soldier Field, biologists from the Field Museum and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pulled up the nets this morning to see what had swum inside to nibble on bait.

They found Chinook salmon, Coho salmon, brown trout and rainbow trout, as well as two types of crayfish and two invasive species that already have invaded the Great Lakes—Round gobies and zebra mussels. But no snakeheads.

"This is a good sign," said Philip Willink, a Field Museum fish biologist. "The longer we go without finding any snakeheads, the more likely it is that there aren't any others out there." * * *

Snakeheads and another import, the Asian carp, are considered major threats to the nation's multibillion-dollar sport and commercial fishing industry. Biologists say both fish pose significant risks to the Great Lakes, the largest freshwater ecosystem in the world.

The fear is that snakeheads somehow may have gotten into Lake Michigan and established a breeding population there. The hope is that the recent catch was a freak, possibly a pet fish that got thrown into the lake after it outgrew its tank.

The search for snakeheads will continue the rest of the week. In addition to regular checks of the trap nets, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources plans to troll the harbor in a boat equipped with electrodes that will stun the fish, which will then rise to the surface to be examined.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 20, 2004 07:03 AM
Posted to Environmental Issues