life

U of M biologist pens 'Guidebook to Great Lakes Fishes,' rejects effort to close Chicago Canal

By Steven Howard, Heritage Newspapers

Fisherman and conservationists alike now have a valuable new reference and educational resource thanks to University of Michigan ecology and evolutionary biology professor emeritus Gerald Smith.

Smith has written "Guide to Great Lakes Fishes," which is a remarkably inclusive, yet physically small reference manual detailing 62 common varieties of fish within the Great Lakes basin.

Smith wrote his first guidebook intended for general publication in 2004, but decided to make a more modular version two years ago when prompted by Sea Grant Michigan, a collaborative organization dedicated to conserving the Great Lakes and adjacent bodies of water.

"I volunteered to do this little book for them, strictly to support their outreach mission," he said.

Smith recruited colleague Emily Damstra to do the illustrations for the book, and gathered photographs from fishermen he is close to in order to give the various sizes of fish context against humans.

Though the book is designed to help anglers and others find and identify various types of fish, Smith said he also wants the book to be educational in other ways.

Smith said textual portions of the book are "on the evolution and ecology of fish," so readers can "try to understand long-term survival of fish."

Those interested in learning more about non-native species finding their way into the Great Lakes will also find a wealth of knowledge in Smith's book.

Smith said he has developed strong opinions on the matter over his career at U of M.

"I've always been very interested in opposing invasive species," he said. "That's reflected in what I've said in the books."

That being said, Smith said much of the maneuvering surrounding the Asian carp issue is no more than political rhetoric from officials seeking re-election.

He opposes closing the Chicago Canal, saying the waterway "has $18 million worth of electric barriers to fish" to do just that, and shutting it "(makes) no sense to those of us who work on fish in the Great Lakes."

The two remaining species of Asian carp that potentially pose a threat, silver carp and Bighead carp, have little chance of surviving in the Great Lakes anyway, said Smith, because the water is too cold and a sufficient food source isn't available.

Ironically, this is due to another invasive species, Zebra Mussels, which consume plankton necessary to the carps' survival.

Needing a concentration of 14 micrograms per liter of plankton to survive, Smith said, "Lake Michigan has less than 1 microgram per liter."

"There isn't enough plankton in the water to support the carp," he said.

Additionally, Smith said closing the canal would simply mean more sewage in Lake Michigan.

"The reason there's a canal there is Chicago had this big problem with sewage," he said. "The canal was dug so that Chicago could dump its sewage into the Illinois River. It would not be good for the Great Lake to have Chicago's sewage turned back into Lake Michigan."

The bigger issue concerning invasive species, Smith said, is trans-Atlantic ships spilling their ballast water into the lakes, which brought the zebra mussels in 1988.

The ships must fill their ballasts with thousands of gallons of water to be heavy enough in the open sea, but must spill it to be able to dock in port.

Originating in Eastern Europe and Russia, zebra mussels "have caused literally billions of dollars in damage," Smith said, citing how "they clog up the water intake pipes for cities" and must constantly be removed.

Smith said shipping companies have resisted efforts to purge ballast waters out at sea citing time constraints.

"They say we'd lose thousands of dollars a day sitting there pumping out our ballast water," Smith said.

Regardless of the problems facing the Great Lakes, Smith said he still enjoys learning about and interacting with these unique bodies of water that represent one-fifth of the world's fresh water.

Smith said he hopes his little guidebook on fish will help other to do the same.

Staff Writer Steven Howard can be reached at 429-7380 or showard@heritage.com. Follow his blog at http://heritageweststaffblog.blogspot.com.