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As concerns mount about the presence of Asian carp near Lake Michigan, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin today urged President Obama to appoint a carp czar to oversee efforts to keep the invasive species out of the Great Lakes. "We need to have one person who coordinates the efforts of the federal, state and local agencies that are doing everything they can to keep the Asian carp out of Lake Michigan," Durbin said during a news conference at the Shedd Aquarium. "We believe it's absolutely essential."

As concerns mount about the presence of Asian carp near Lake Michigan, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin today urged President Obama to appoint a carp czar to oversee efforts to keep the invasive species out of the Great Lakes. "We need to have one person who coordinates the efforts of the federal, state and local agencies that are doing everything they can to keep the Asian carp out of Lake Michigan," Durbin said during a news conference at the Shedd Aquarium. "We believe it's absolutely essential."

Executive Summary: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) was directed in WRDA 2007, Section 3061(b)(1)(D) to conduct a study of a range of options or technologies for reducing impacts of hazards that may reduce the efficacy of the Electrical Dispersal Barriers located on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC), hereafter referred to as the Efficacy Study. The Electrical Dispersal Barriers were designed to reduce the risk of inter-basin transfer of fish from the Mississippi River and Great Lakes drainage basins via the CSSC. It consists of three electrical barriers, Barrier I, IIA and IIB that comprise the Electrical...

CHICAGO – An Asian carp was found for the first time beyond electric barriers meant to keep the voracious invasive species out of the Great Lakes, state and federal officials said Wednesday, prompting renewed calls for swift action to block their advance. Commercial fishermen landed the 3-foot-long, 20-pound bighead carp in Lake Calumet on Chicago's South Side, about six miles from Lake Michigan, according to the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee.

An Asian carp was found for the first time beyond electric barriers meant to keep the voracious invasive species out of the Great Lakes, state and federal officials said Wednesday, prompting renewed calls for swift action to block their advance. Commercial fishermen landed the 3-foot-long, 20-pound bighead carp in Lake Calumet on Chicago's South Side, about six miles from Lake Michigan, according to the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee.

At this week's National Grocers Association convention in Las Vegas, celebrity chef Philippe Parola was touting his new favorite fish. '[It has] 70-percent more Omega-3 than in catfish and tilapia," an animated Parola told an assembled crowd at his booth. "No mercury because it's a filter fish."

CHICAGO – Illinois environmental officials will dump a toxic chemical into a nearly 6-mile stretch of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Wednesday to keep the voracious Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes while an electrical barrier is turned off for maintenance. The fish, which can grow to 4 feet long and 100 pounds and are known to leap from the water at the sound of passing motors, have been found within a few miles of Lake Michigan and there is evidence they might have breached the barrier, designed to repel them with a non-lethal jolt. Environmentalists fear the...

A frog has been snapped riding on top of a fish. The crafty creature was caught surfing on the head of the bright yellow Koi carp in a stunned couple's pond in their back garden. Amazingly Terry and Margaret Huggins said they watched the fun-loving frog hitch a ride on the super-cool carp for 30 minutes before it hopped off at 7am one morning. Advertisement - article continues below » Quick-thinking Mr Huggins, 76, of Warboys, Cambs, grabbed his camera and took pictures of the incredible natural double act. Terry, of Warboys, near Huntingdon, Cambs, said: "I've never seen anything...

Utah officials are about to embark on what they believe is the nation's biggest carp removal project. Later this year, commercial fishermen are expected to begin removing about 5 million pounds of carp from Utah Lake. Over six years, they hope to remove about 30 million pounds of the fish, which officials say is impeding efforts to recover a native species called the June sucker. The carp removal project got a boost this week with news that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is providing about $1 million for the work. State officials plan to match that federal grant with...

I am the owner of the lake located behind the old Rockmart High School on College Street. A few weeks ago I observed that there was something floating at the top of my lake and I called my grandson to come check out the situation. When my grandson arrived at my house, he and one of his friends floated out in the lake to see what it was. Once he was out in the boat, he realized that it was an injured carp that I had purchased when the fish was only 8 inches long. He and his friend pulled...

Fish flies out of lake, breaks Arkansas teen's jaw Sun Sep 7, 8:26 PM ET LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - It's a fishing tale that packs a wallop so strong it broke the jaw of a southeastern Arkansas teen and covered him in fish blood and guts. Seth Russell, 15, of Crossett, was cruising Lake Chicot on a large inner tube towed by a boat when a Silver Asian carp leaped from the water and smacked him in the face. Seth was knocked unconscious. "He doesn't remember anything at all," the boy's mother, Linda Russell, said last week. "He was laughing,...

So far we've heard bogus rumors that Sarah Palin had an affair, covered up her daughter's pregnancy by claiming her baby as her own, is a bad mother for running for VP with a baby and daughter who is pregnant, etc. Let's just go ahead and get all the possible rumors out of the way now so we don't have to put up with this carp for the next two months.

River's abundance of corpses ruins Iraqis' appetite for carp REUTERS July 11, 2007 BAGHDAD – River fish are off the menu in Baghdad. Dead bodies frequently pulled from the River Tigris have dulled the Iraqi capital's appetite for masqouf, its popular dish of grilled carp, after it was reported that clerics had warned that the fish dined on rotting corpses. “They spread rumors about the fish, that they eat the bodies of drowned people, but this is just a rumor,” said fisherman Hussein Ahmed, 62, after setting his nets within sight of the heavily fortified Green Zone compound on the...

Shooting carps in Wisconsin BY DAVE BARRY (This classic Dave Barry column was originally published June 25, 2000.) A fundamental belief held by Americans is that if you are on land, you cannot be killed by a fish. This belief has been reinforced by the Steven Spielberg movies ''Jaws,'' ''Jaws II,'' ''Jaws Goes to Porky's'' and ''Saving Private Ryan From Jaws,'' in which the only characters to die were the ones stupid enough to venture into the Atlantic Ocean, where even ankle-deep water often conceals predators the size of Winnebagos. So most Americans remain on land, believing they're safe. Unfortunately,...

A 45- to 50-pound grass carp, more commonly known as flying Asian carp, was caught in the Lower St. Croix River earlier this month, fueling concern about several types of Asian carp that are making their way up the Mississippi River from southern states, the Pioneer Press is reporting. A commercial fisherman caught the carp April 7 near Prescott, Wis., Jay Rendall, invasive species program coordinator for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, told the St. Paul paper. Grass carp are one of four species of Asian carp that were imported into the United States in the 1960s and '70s,...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Fish that leap into passing boats may be a fisherman's fantasy, but scientists fear that hyperactive Asian carp will reach the U.S. Great Lakes, devour the base of the food chain and spoil drinking water for 40 million people. In less than a decade since escaping southern U.S. fish farms, the hardy and voracious carp have come to dominate sections of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. "It is a crisis," said Phil Moy of the University of Wisconsin and the government-affiliated water protection group Sea Grant. "We've seen some pretty significant adverse invaders in the Great...

HUNDREDS of pounds worth of ornamental fish have been stolen from outside the corporate headquarters of Hyundai UK, in Easton Street, High Wycombe. The theft of three ghost carp and eight comet goldfish was discovered by Hyundai data administrator Lindsey Morant on Tuesday last week. Ms Morant brought some fish food from home to entice the fish out of hiding after the cleaner reported that she hadn't seen them swimming about at all on Monday.

China: A Tiger-faced Carp A carp with a face resembling a tiger swims in the Wulong Pool at a park in Jinan, east China's Shandong province February 25, 2005. The strange fish was found by local residents and has drawn hundreds of visitors in the past two days. Staff at the park said some fish-lovers even called the park and offered a high price to buy the fish. CHINA OUT REUTERS/China Newsphoto

Once again, man steps forward to tinker with nature in order to fix the damage done by man's previous tinkering with nature. And this time it's only going to cost taxpayers a little more than $9 million. In two weeks, the Army Corps of Engineers will begin building a permanent electric barrier to keep Asian carp from swimming into the Great Lakes. Asian carp are a big threat. Literally. They can grow up to 150 pounds and gobble as much as 40 percent of their body weight a day. According to Tom Henry, a reporter with The Blade in Toledo,...

In a sworn statement to be made public Tuesday, University of Colorado President Elizabeth Hoffman said a four-letter word used toward women can sometimes be used as a "term of endearment." The comment comes from Hoffman's latest sworn testimony in connection with a federal lawsuit against the university. The suit was filed by women who say they were sexually assaulted by CU football players and recruits. A lawyer for one of the women asked Hoffman about former CU kicker Katie Hnida being called the "c- word" by a teammate. That player was later disciplined by coach Gary Barnett for making...