Asian Carp: "I was like fish, fish! People wouldn't believe a fish could do that to you."

With all the ecosystem concerns brought on by America’s invasive species poster child, the Asian carp, we sometimes forget these critters pose a serious public safety threat. A recent near-drowning in Mississippi’s Lake Tunica paints a clear picture of the impact an infestation of silver carp can have on a community’s quality of life. In this case, a woman inner-tubing behind a boat was swamped by leaping fish that broke her collarbone and knocked her unconscious. Ugh, what an ignominious way to go---here are some choice quotes from her harrowing tale:

All of a sudden we got to one area of the lake when hundreds of fish started jumping out the water everywhere.

It was unbelievable. It was like fish, fish! People wouldn't believe a fish could do that to you.

I remember going under water and trying to get back to the top to get a breath and I couldn't get to the top. The fish kept me under water and I remember thinking this is it. This is my last breath.

Despite somewhat sensational coverage that implied she was attacked---she wasn’t, the fish were doing what comes naturally when startled---her experience is, sadly, not unique. Vast stretches of our waterways are being eliminated from recreational use by the carp’s presence. Folks in places like Peoria, IL have long since abandoned recreational activity on the Illinois River for fear of similar incidents (and judging from the critical online comments from coverage on this story, it seems locals on Lake Tunica had largely made the same decision to stay off this body of water).

As we grapple with this issue near Chicago, I am reminded of a question my colleague Henry Henderson askedin his blog when the Asian carp story started to blow up:

What happens if a kid gets whacked by one of these whopping fish on Oak Street Beach? Far fetched? Not really; similar things have happened on other lakes. The fish's penchant for leaping out of the water when startled makes me wonder what effect this problem could have on tourism, which fuels more and more of the Chicago and the State of Illinois economies (Statewide $30.8 billion was spent by visitors in 2008, yielding $2.1 billion in state and local taxes and generating 303,500 jobs according to the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau). There's no doubt that the Lake is a big part of the attraction.

Nobody suggests that this could happen tomorrow, or anytime soon, but let's hope Congress finds time to look at the proposed Asian carp legislation so we can slam the door on any possibility of folks getting clocked by carp on the Great Lakes.