Ecological Dilemma

What do you think when your local authorities intentionally poured some toxin to your lakes, absurd or impossible? But that’s exactly what happens in the Great Lakes – USA. On December 3, 2009, the authorities dump some 2000 pounds (equivalent to 900 kg) of natural poison, Rotenone, that prevent fish gills from absorbing oxygen. The results; some 200,000 pounds or about 90 tons of dead fishes are expected to be collected, weighed, inventoried and dumped in a land fill.

Although the poison were harmless to human, but exactly what made them do such a thing?

The problem lies concerning ecological balance in the Great Lakes. There’s a fear that the balance will be distorted when Bighead carp and Silver carp, species of the Asian Carp, enters the Great Lakes and wipe out other fish or their food supplies. The Carp – which can grow to 4 feet long and 100 pounds in weight make up 95 percent of the biomass and they are considered poor for eating or as a game fish, while the Silver carp could flung its self to nearby boaters when disturbed by passing motorboats.

The carp it self spreads since 1990s, when floods allowed them to escape into rivers from research facilities and commercial fish ponds in the South where they are introduced to clean away weeds and other detritus. Since then, they have multiplied and become a “nuisance species”.

However, the two prolific species of Asian carp, the Bighead carp and the Silver Carp is not among the dead fishes after the poison is applied. Now, that raises some questions. Is it fair to kill a certain species while decimating the others? I’m sure steps had been taken by the local authorities and experts to avoid further damage caused by the actions. But is it too much if we have to poison the whole lake?
I’ve read that they have tried putting electrical barriers in 2002 and 2006 and now environmentalists have suggested that the Great Lakes should be permanently separated from the Mississippi River. It is indicated that Michigan Governor, Jennifer Granholm is agreed on the separation. But the separation could disrupt or even halted the commercial line of approximately 15 million tons a year of commodities including oil, cement, iron, coal and road salt.

I fear the problem is just begun. Many have stake their interest in this matter; the environmentalist fear the problem would create an “ecological disaster”; the American Waterways Operator, a trade association representing the tug and barge industry, fear the separation would lead to higher shipping cost; and the fishermen…well, they’ve already lost 200,000 pounds of fish worth of money by poisoning.

Recent news has yet shed some light in this matter. We could only hope the outcome of this matter could be resolve without risking or harming the environment or crippling the economy or endangering the source of income of fishermen’s.