(Toledo, OH) Bait shops and anglers are the targets of a public education effort today.
The aim is to get the help of those bait shops and fishermen to help prevent invasive species from entering the Great Lakes. There's even a town hall meeting tonight where both groups can learn more about how they can assist in the effort.
University of Toledo researchers found that bait shop owners sometimes accidentally mixed in non-native species like silver carp with the bait sold to Lake Erie fishermen. The study, funded by a $500,000 grant, found that 43 percent of the shops dispensed misidentified species using environmental DNA sampling.
Over time, those invasive species-- round goby, mosquitofish, and tadpole snails-- could decimate Lake Erie fishing for popular types like lake trout, walleye and yellow perch.
The town hall meeting starts at 8 p.m. at the WGTE Public Media studios on South Detroit Avenue.