Federal and state wildlife officials working in conjunction with academic researchers recently announced six water samples taken from Sandusky and north Maumee bays tested positive for the presence of Asian carp environmental DNA in Michigan and Ohio waters.
The positive samples were among 417 taken from Lake Erie in August 2011, and more than 2,000 samples taken from the Great Lakes Basin since 2010. The Lake Erie batch was recently analyzed and test results were confirmed by eDNA researchers last week. The six positive samples represent less than 1.5 percent of the Lake Erie samples.
Four samples from Sandusky Bay, in Ohio waters, tested positive for bighead carp eDNA, while two samples from north Maumee Bay, in Michigan waters, were positive for silver carp eDNA.
In response to these findings, electro-shocking and netting began Friday in Sandusky Bay with no evidence of Asian carp found. However, additional testing and monitoring are planned by the Ohio and Michigan Departments of Natural Resources in conjunction with partner agencies.

Gov. John Kasich kicked off the 34th Governor’s Fish Ohio Day by joining anglers for a day of fishing on Lake Erie Wednesday morning. Fish Ohio Day promotes the positive impacts of Lake Erie sport fishing and tourism on the region’s economy. Ohio has an $800 million sport fishery industry and a $10 billion tourist industry. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife was a sponsor of Fish Ohio Day as well as Lake Erie Shores and Islands-West and the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association. Nineteen charter boats participated in the event this year.
ODNR Director James Zehringer joined the governor in fishing on Lake Erie today. Zehringer reinforced that Lake Erie is not only important to northern Ohio, but to the entire state. He shared that Lake Erie fisheries have been sustained for decades, and Kasich and ODNR are committed to ensuring Ohio’s fisheries are sustainable for the future.

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science issued the first-ever seasonal harmful algal bloom forecast for Lake Erie at an all-day press event Thursday at Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory. The forecast predicts a mild bloom, similar to conditions last seen in 2007 and about one-tenth the size of last year’s bloom.
“A mild bloom is great news for this year,” said Dr. Jeffrey Reutter, Director of Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory. “But this is happening because we’re in a drought, not because phosphorus loading to Lake Erie has improved. If we have a real wet spring in 2013, we could be right back to where we were.”

Have you been noticing giant black plumes of smoke in the sky around Lake Erie lately? The local Pheasants Forever chapter and the Ottawa Soil & Water Conservation District have been conducting prescribed burns as a fundamental part of the Lake Erie Cooperative Weed Management Area program. This program aims to protect, restore, and enhance the Western Lake Erie Basin landscape and wetlands by coordinating efforts to identify, prevent and control invasive species.

Anglers throughout the state can do their part to protect Ohio’s high quality fishing by reporting fishing violations they observe to the Turn In a Poacher hotline at 800-POACHER or online at ohiotip.com, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife.
Each year, the TIP hotline receives approximately 4,800 calls from concerned citizens reporting violations involving the poaching, or illegal taking, of fish and game, trespassing, commercialization of wildlife and the over-harvesting of fish and game. Since its inception in 1982, more than 3,000 convictions have been made using information from the hotline. While the majority of TIP reports are received during the hunting seasons, anglers should remember that the TIP hotline is available year-round.