“Michigan wants to slam the door shut on the voracious fish before they enter the Great Lakes and destroy the region’s $7-billion-a-year sport fishing industry or threaten the $16 billion spent on recreational boating each year.”
“The latest threat — Asian carp — began their relentless march north along the Mississippi River decades ago, after being imported for use in Southern states to clean the ponds of catfish farmers in the 1970s. Government workers were also experimenting with the fish as a way to control weeds and dispose of sewage. The fish proved dangerously effective at eating and reproducing in their new home, with the bighead carp variety eating up to 40 percent of its weight each day and growing to 100 pounds and four feet long. Once the carp got into the wild, they began driving out native fish species that anglers covet, eventually dominating entire stretches of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The silver carp variety’s habit of jumping several feet out of the water into the path of motorboats — and their pilots and passengers — makes recreational boating a dangerous proposition in infested areas, with many injuries reported.” Asian Carp About to Enter Great Lakes Chain
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“No method of commercial fishing is more destructive of marine ecosystems than longlining. on any given day 100 million baited hooks dangle from giant trotlines in all the world’s oceans……Longlining was introduced by the Japanese in 1952 when the United States first allowed their provisional government to return to the sea. By 1965, Japanese longliners were stripping marine life from every quarter of every ocean. Later in the decade, Spain and the United States joined the slaughter. By the 21st century longlining had become a free-for-all with more than 40 nations and untold pirate fleets competing for rapidly dwindling resources.” Ted Williams of FlyRodReel
SwittersB & Exploring 