Lawmakers in Washington might be at a standstill on how to avoid going over the "fiscal cliff," but they are working together to avoid something that could threaten Ohio's economy - the spread of Asian Carp to the Great Lakes.
Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman, along with senators from other states that border the Great Lakes, have introduced a bill designed to get more federal agencies involved in the war against Asian Carp.
The Strategic Response to Asian Carp Invasion Act puts the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in charge of coordinating a partnership between federal, state and local agencies to help stop the spread of Asian Carp.
These fish can grow to a hundred pounds and eat almost everything in their path. They can also injure people by jumping out of the water as boats pass by. The threat of Asian Carp isn't just ecological - it's economical. Commercial and recreational fishing along the Great Lakes brings in seven billion dollars a year.
Over the summer, President Obama signed another bill requiring the Army Corps of Engineers to design a plant to hydrologically separate the Mississippi River tributaries from the Great Lakes. But since then, Asian Carp DNA was discovered in Lake Erie.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WICU. All Rights Reserved.
