The US Government Plans to Spend $788M on Boobytraps to Get Rid of Asian Carp

Around the vast waters of America’s Great Lakes, the US government is waging war against a tenacious and prolific invasive species. The Asian carp is the target of a proposed $800 million plan to prevent the fish from colonizing Lake Michigan, earning it the reputation of a notably costly pest.

“Whenever any of these carps are out of balance, there's too many of them, they're going to have catastrophic ecological effects,” Kevin Irons, who manages the aquatic nuisance species program at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, told PBS NewsHour on Sunday.

“Asian carp” is a catchall for several species native to East and South Asia where they’re a popular food staple. Several types—black, grass, bighead, and silver carp—were introduced to the Midwest in the 1970s (at the behest of the Environmental Protection Agency) as a cheaper way to clean aquaculture and wastewater treatment ponds (carp feed on weeds and parasites). But due to flooding and accidental releases, they managed to escape into the Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois rivers, and have since become self-sustained in the wild. In 1996, the US Army Corps of Engineers was asked to begin prototyping electric barriers for controlling wild populations of Asian carp.

Last month, the Army Corps announced its latest strategy for the tackling the problem: a $788 million technological fish blockade.

The Army Corps intends to build an artificial channel at Brandon Road Lock and Dam near Joliet, Illinois, where Asian carp can be prevented from entering Lake Michigan. All along the canal, a series of boobytraps—an air bubble curtain, electric field, and acoustic deterrent to exploit the fishes’ fear of loud noises—could effectively keep them at bay.

These species pose a serious threat to the Great Lakes ecosystem—Asian carp are voracious eaters and breeders, and can easily outcompete native fishes. Businesses also worry that carp will harm the region’s $7 billion per year fishing industry.

The federal government has since categorized them an “aquatic nuisance species,” and created the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC), a task force of federal, state, and local representatives, to come up with a plan to eradicate the hardy fish.

The past few years have witnessed several proposals, with the costliest reaching $18 billion for a physical barrier between the Mississippi River Basin and the Great Lakes. And the Army Corps’ current plan is not without controversy, either—as noted last year by Undark, scientists, lawmakers, and citizens have struggled to agree on everything from facts to solutions regarding Asian carp.

The proposal must still be approved by Congress. The plan is for the federal government to cover 80 percent of the cost, with Illinois and other states paying for $156 million, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.