On the recordJuly 9, 2013
In reclaiming my time, I have the desire to work with the gentleman in any way possible. Literally, the gentleman is right. This fish is like a guided missile except there are millions of them, and until you actually see it happen, you don't believe it. It's like some kind of movie--``The Twilight Zone''--except it's real. It came from the aquaculture industry down in Mississippi, which had an accident, and they brought these fish in to do the cleaning in the fish tanks. Yet, when the walls were breached, they started swimming north in the Mississippi River, and now they are about 30 miles from the Chicago harbor and through the ship canal there. They are about 30 miles from there, but they're coming up into the St. Joseph River in Indiana. They've caught some there. We don't know about the Ohio River, but the Maumee River, which I represent--the largest river that flows into the Great Lakes--is a spawning area for walleye, for example, and this species is really a predator, one that could wipe out our entire multibillion-dollar fishing industry in the Great Lakes. {time} 1515 There is no scientific solution at this point. So I hope the administration is hearing us. I hope the Army Corps and the Department of the Interior and others are hearing us. Our country needs a real solution to prevent the spread of this predator into our freshwater lakes, and it is an unsolved challenge for the Nation. So I thank the gentleman so much for coming to the floor today.…
