February 23 - Kaptur Praises Administration’s Focus on Asian Carp

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur welcomed the release today by the Obama Administration of the 2012 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework. The report outlines specific plans to protect the Great Lakes from invasive Asian carp, including new technologies to improve Asian carp capture rates, prioritizing eDNA sampling for Asian carp, and improving and replacing barriers in the Chicago Area Waterway System.

"I am glad President Obama has made a priority of protecting our Great Lakes from an Asian carp invasion, which would devastate our $7 billion fishing industry," said Kaptur, a cosponsor of the Stop Asian Carp Act.

Congresswoman Kaptur recently held a well-attended public forum on Asian Carp. Community stakeholders heard from White House Asian Carp Director John Goss, and representatives from the EPA, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Geological Survey.

Kaptur noted the importance of the meeting, explaining, "Federal agencies need to hear from the people who would be affected by an invasion of Asian carp. That meeting allowed input from our region to be included in the new plan released today."

The Ninth District represented by Congresswoman Kaptur covers a large portion of Lake Erie, which is the Great Lakes' largest fishery, and would suffer the worst effects if Asian carp were to pass through the Chicago canals and into Lake Erie.

"We must protect our lake. That is why I have worked diligently with my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to provide funding for critical programs like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, and to accelerate the study to create a full physical barrier to prevent an invasion of Asian carp," said Kaptur.

The full 2012 Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework can be found here.

Photo courtesy of the US Army Corps of Engineers