Canadians Hell-Bent On Keeping Asian Carp Out

No one is quite sure exactly how Asian carp wound up in the Mississippi River. They were imported in mass in the 1970s by fish farmers looking for a cheap and easy way to clean ponds, but somehow, the slippery bastards escaped their homes and wound up in other bodies of water. It could have been flooding. It could have been manual transportation. Regardless of the reason, the slimy, jumping pests are there, and apparently, they’re invasive and particularly good at destroying local fish populations.

Some years ago, an electronic fish barrier was installed in an attempt to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes, but two years ago, an ugly nineteen-pound monster was found just six miles away from Lake Michigan, having somehow James Bond-ed its way through the trap. Its presence put a scare into both American and Canadian wildlife experts, and now our neighbors to the North have decided to lift up their sleeves and work on fixing the problem.

According to The Associated Press, Canada will devote almost twenty million dollars over the next five years to preventing Asian Carp from migrating into the Great Lakes. Canadian experts will partner with some from the United States to create a first alert system, and millions will be spent on advertising to make sure morons don’t drop Asian carp they might keep as pets into public waterways.

This is why humans specializing in various things is a great idea. Apart from a small percentage of weirdos, fishermen and environmentalists, most of us would have gone our entire lives not realizing Asian carp are apparently merciless Storm Troopers. Now we know and can act accordingly. Bravo for life working out the way it should.