Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. I rise in support of S. 1421, the Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act.

For the last 2 decades the Federal Government has sat still. We have allowed numerous Asian Carp species to expand their range further and further North and today, Asian Carp are on the doorstep of the Great Lakes. With sustainable populations in Indiana and Illinois and the $7 billion recreational fishery at stake, immediate action is needed.

This legislation takes an important step in restricting the transportation of the Big Head Asian Carp by listing it as an injurious species under the Lacey Act, prohibiting this fish from being shipped or imported into the United States.

Should the Asian Carp successfully invade the Great Lakes, they would likely breed and prosper in the shallow and warm waters along the 90 miles of Lake Erie coastline in the Ninth Congressional District. In areas that the Asian Carp have already invaded, Asian Carp have outcompeted local species, destroying habitat for many species.

With 328,000 anglers and an $800 million economic impact from Lake Erie's recreational fishing industry, aggressive action is needed. My hope is that S. 1421 is just the start in a series of actions the House will take in the coming year. Congress must fund the protection efforts, ecologically separate the ecosystem and light a fire under the Federal and State agencies to protect one of our regions greatest economic resources.

On behalf of 20 percent of the worlds freshwater, the millions of great lakes anglers and towns both big and small that are dependent on the ecological resources of the Great Lakes, I urge my colleagues to support this critical legislation.

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