The Natural Order

Approaching the boundaries of nature with trepidation.

by Rabbi Yonason Goldson for aish.com

“Caution is a most valuable asset in fishing, especially if you are the fish.”

The author of this clever truism, whose identity has been lost to posterity, probably had no idea just how right he was. A lack of caution, it now seems, has endangered a $7 billion dollar-a-year industry.

After the sighting of a single Asian carp this past June, everyone from the National Wildlife Federation to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is close to panic. These giant carp, originally imported to control the spread of algae in Arkansas fish farms, escaped into the Mississippi River during the great flood of 1993 and have been steadily making their way northward.

The last line of defense has been a man-made canal built a century ago to link the Mississippi River with the Great Lakes. By running electric current through this narrow waterway, officials believed they could block the progress of the invasive fish. Now they are not so sure.

Able to eat 40 percent of their body weight each day and lacking any natural predators, the Asian carp can grow to over a hundred pounds and four feet in length, crowding out smaller fish and thereby threatening the survival of the fishing industry. Some argue that the only remaining solution is to shut the Chicago area shipping locks, thereby shutting down commercial traffic as well. A judge’s decision is currently pending.

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