Gov. Ted Strickland caught his first Lake Erie walleye this week during Fish Ohio Day. Praising Ohio's great lake, Strickland was adamant he will aggressively fight to prevent his favorite fishing hole from being ruined by Asian carp.
Gov. Ted Strickland caught a Lake Erie walleye on his first cast of the day during the 31st annual Fish Ohio Day on Monday.
PORT CLINTON, OHIO - Gov. Ted Strickland caught his first Lake Erie walleye this week during Fish Ohio Day. Praising Ohio's great lake, Strickland was adamant he will aggressively fight to prevent his favorite fishing hole from being ruined by Asian carp.
"Lake Erie is a precious asset," said Strickland after his fishing trip. "We need to recognize that. We need to protect it. We're all concerned right now about the potential impact of the Asian carp.
"I think there's a lack of urgency among the decision makers about that issue. We tried to encourage them to think about (Asian carp) as similar to what's happening in the Gulf of Mexico."
Can an invasive carp match the destruction of millions of gallons of oil?
"We need to recognize the incredible destructive happening if this fish invades the Great Lakes," Strickland said. "We're talking about a natural jewel that would be forever altered. The Gulf will recover. It may take decades. It may take generations. But the Gulf will eventually recover.
"If the Asian carp gets in to the Great Lakes, we may never be able to reverse that. We don't need a study right now. What we need is action. We need to begin the process of a physical barrier that can keep this fish out of the Great Lakes. If it gets in, it will be an ecological and economic disaster."
Asian carp have infested the Mississippi, Illinois and other major rivers. They keep popping up in various waterways in Indiana and Illinois that are a stone's throw from Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes. Federal officials have constructed an electric fence to keep the invasive carp from slipping through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and swimming to nearby Lake Michigan.
President Barack Obama responded to demands from Strickland, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and other Great Lakes officials this week, promising to appoint an Asian carp czar within the month to oversee state and federal efforts. At the same time, opponents of shutting down the Chicago waterways that could introduce Asian carp to the Great Lakes criticized any additional controls.
"There is no place for knee-jerk reactions, unfounded fear of implausible migrations or demonization of regulators," Mark Biel of the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois told Chicago Business. Others called for more studies, even though an Asian carp was caught June 22 in Lake Calumet, near Lake Michigan and about 30 miles beyond the electronic barriers designed to stop them.
"We have been on the phone with the White House, sharing our concerns about this," said Strickland. "We've written letters. I think we've done everything we've been able to do thus far, but we're going to keep the pressure on."
The Lake Erie walleye caught by Gov. Ted Strickland and all of the fishermen at Fish Ohio Day in Port Clinton were donated to the Victory Temple food pantry in Sandusky. Flanking Gov. Ted Strickland as they put the catch on ice are, left to right, senior pastor Rev. Lonnie Walters, Devan Bath and David Luke Walters.Lake Erie and the Great Lakes have a variety of problems to be solved, said Strickland.
"We have a blimp over the Lake Erie waters right now, studying the algae problem," he said. "We can see the algae in the lake. Problems like this can be dealt with if we take the right action.
"The concern I have is there is a tendency to study something to death before action is taken. Studies and research are important, but we need to act as auickly as we can."
A newcomer to Lake Erie and its boating and fishing, Strickland and his wife, Fran, have become regular visitors.
"This is a jewel," said Strickland. "I think it's not fully appreciated by many Ohioans, and that's quite sad. This is a wonderful recreational spot, a great place for fishing. It contributes so much to our state."