Game On! 74 Tons of Asian Carp to be removed from Illinois waterways

Summer: is here. The world of the mighty Great Lakes: might soon go to the carp.

And here to help make it so: the clueless locals...

But hark; are there super heroes out there? Introducing the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee, a network of experts to keep the pressure on the Asian Carp.

Deploying multiple techniques designed to restrict movement of Asian Carp, uniform clad officers from the US Fish and Wildlife and DNR are a force to contend with. "We're not letting up in our fight to keep Asian carp from the Great Lakes," said John Rogner, assistant Illinois DNR director.

This year more than 74 tons of bighead and silver carp will be removed from Illinois waterways, a majority of which will be removed 65 miles south of Lake Michigan.

"Charlie, do you think the committee has been
studying Abu Gharib torture techniques?" 

Holy Carp, we’re going to need a lot of tarter sauce for all those carp cakes! Keep up the good work DNR Officer, John Rogner! Click To Read More 

Support our troops, wear Bob Lake!

Yo, Wyoming! Got Your Aquatic Invasive Decals?

It’s as simple as this: it’s summer, and that t-shirt you wore at the lake last year is starting to smell fishy. So now that your boat is sporting Aquatic Invasive Species decals (Wyoming requires all boats to display decals), wear an Aquatic Invasive pin-up t-shirt and look good while you’re being inspected. 

Hey Bob, Father's Day is Coming!

“Today marks the first time this year that inspectors will be stationed in many of the state's water systems to enforce the Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2010.” 

In Wyoming, “Aquatic Invasive Species decals help fund inspections designed to keep non-native species, such as the zebra and quagga mussels, from entering and wreaking havoc on the state's ecosystem. Boaters must display the decal and pass the inspection before they are permitted to launch their watercraft.”

There’s nothing better than hooking up with Bob Lake’s invasive posse while getting a thumbs-up from your local DNR officer.  To read more: http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2011/05/26/news/20local_05-26-11.txt

Missing a Quagga Mussel Sticker? We'll see you in court

Hey, do you think Ms Quagga Mussel Tattoos are next?

Ah, Lake County. The land of boats, trailers and Quagga Stickers.

And, of course, the perfect wake.

Say hello to procuring Quagga Mussel stickers prior to launching your boats.

Eager to take a stand against Ms Quagga Mussel, Lake County officials and the District Attorney have instituted the toughest Quagga Mussel ordinances in the country.

Don’t comply with the ordinance of placing stickers your boat and trailer; one of the biggest standing waves could be coming your way… “If found guilty, the alleged violators will face a total fine of $2,700, which includes a $1,000 fine and $1,700 in court fees.”

If you’re scratching your head over the these expensive fines, let us explain: once Ms Quagga Mussel enters your lake, basically a perestroika movement of epic proportion will destroy the beaches, kill your native fish, and destroy your water intake systems.

In addition to the fines, convicted boaters will also be charged with a misdemeanor, which stays on your record, and your neighbors will brand you with a Quagga tattoo. To read more:  www.record-bee.com/sports/ci_18102271

Don’t Move a Mussel – Wear Bob Lake!

Like It or Not, Ms Zebra Mussel is in your face!

Today, a warning: you’re lake has been plastered with Zebra Mussel Alert Signs

You may not know it—but even as you read this, there’s an underground network of invasives, Eurasian turncoats and KGB like informants, anonymously weighing in on your lack of competence, boating hygiene and value as a lake resident.

And unless we “Pike UP!” invasive aquatic species will destroy our American waters.

Welcome to our nightmare, Ms Zebra Mussel is ruthlessly efficient and highly prolific, and is covertly hitchhiking from boat to boat.

So if you like it “Hot or Not,” wear Bob Lake and Stop the Spread!   

Invasive species posing a serious risk to some Minnesota lakes - (WDAY TV)-May 10, 2011- Bill Schammert - Lake officials say its time to take their heads out of the sand. 

Aquatic Invasive Species are a serious threat and that threat is here now.DICK HECOCK - President, Becker Co. COLA: “What we're particularly worried about right now is the Zebra Mussel threat and it has the capacity to move very quickly.”

Zebra mussels attach themselves to hard surfaces and feed on the same plankton and algae as fish, thus greatly shrinking the overall fish population. http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/46752/

PS- For every t-shirt sold, $1 is donated to Wildlife Forever

There’s a war happening on American waters!

Or at least that’s what it felt like when you took the boat out for a spin on the Mississippi - "survival of the fittest" make it feel that way.  

So it's probably time to brush up on your bow fishing skills.  

 If we don’t stop these cunning Asian Carp, we’ll be signing up for Great Lakes Adventures, a two-week crash course in becoming a water warrior, release forms required.

Oh Carp! Stop the Spread!

CHICAGO, April 29 (UPI) -- Asian carp may be more suitable for survival in the Great Lakes than previously thought, increasing the likelihood of damage to lake ecosystems, officials said.

While previous studies concluded Asian carp need plankton -- scarce in the southern end of Lake Michigan -- as a food source, new evidence says one Asian carp species can eat cladophora, an algae species found throughout the Great Lakes, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

"I was getting tired of plankton, cladophora sounds kind of good!"

"It is worrisome," Leon Carl of the Midwest Area U.S. Geological Survey said. "If they can switch to cladophora then we got a problem because cladophora in the Great Lakes is extremely abundant."

Experts are now testing to determine whether this algae, regularly washing ashore and choking some of Lake Michigan's shorelines, has enough nutritional value to sustain the carp while they migrate up the shorelines toward the rivers in which they need to spawn, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said. 

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/04/29/Asian-carp-more-survivable-than-believed/UPI-48641304117150/#ixzz1LjYNnuwl

Why gin-clear water in Lake Michigan isn't necessarily a good thing

Picture yourself time-traveling back to the golden age of bathtub gin, Detroit jazz and all the sophistication and decadence of Prohibition-era. Only it’s present day. On Lake Michigan. Your boat depth gauge reads 30-ft and the water is gin-clear.

Some how your favorite lake has changed from a hot spot for sport fishing, to a Cotton Club for Quagga Mussels. What the heck?

Coming to a Lake near you!

And did we mention Ms Quagga welcomes your water vessels VIP admission?

GRAND RAPIDS, MAY 4, 2001- mlive.com- Anyone not convinced about the effects of messing with the Great Lakes ecosystem need only consider one little bivalve mollusk: the quagga mussel.

Introduced into the lakes through the ballast waters of transoceanic freighters, the dime-sized mussels are now estimated to top 950 trillion in Lake Michigan. That’s roughly 500 million pounds of the little creatures covering the bottom of the big lake. To read more