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They are a feared species, threatening to invade America’s Midwest and cause the collapse of an ecosystem and a $7 billion industry.
它們是令人恐懼的物種,入侵到美國中西部地區,威脅到了當地生態,引起了生態系統崩潰,造成70億工業損失。
「They」 are Asian carp.
「他們是亞洲鯉魚。」
The fish were imported from Southeast Asia in the 1970s to help clean ponds at wastewater treatment facilities and fish farms in the American South.
這種魚是20世紀70年代從東南亞進口過來幫助清理南美的池塘汙水和養魚場。
But they escaped into the Missouri and Illinois rivers during flooding of the Mississippi River.
但由於密西西比河洪水造成了他們逃往蘇密裡河和伊利諾州。
Biologists worry that the invasive fish will starve native ones to death. A hardy creature that breeds easily and with no natural predators in the U.S., the Asian carp can eat up to 40 percent of its body weight in plankton every day.
生物學家擔心這種具有攻擊性的魚會威脅到當地魚類生存。這是一種適應性極強的生物,繁殖能力很強,在美國也沒有天敵,這種亞洲鯉魚每天可以吃食達到它身體重量40%的浮遊生物。
Concern is so great that Asian carp have been 「the subject of state lawsuits, EPA and Congressional hearings, and U.S. Supreme Court motions,」 according to a U.S.-based environment magazine.
據美國一家當地環境雜誌稱:有人關注就是好,亞洲鯉魚已經成為了「國家訴訟,環境保護局國會聽證會和美國最高法院的主題。」
There’s even a carp czar, appointed by the White House, to oversee the $80 million federal effort to keep the Asian carp from getting into the Great Lakes.
甚至還有受任於白宮的一個鯉魚制度,花費聯邦8千萬來觀測亞洲鯉魚,防止它們進入五大湖區。
But the state of Illinois has a simpler solution.
但伊利諾斯州有一個很簡單的解決方案。
Send them to China.
將它們送回中國。
The electrical barrier, installed in 2002 to repel fish with non-lethal jolts, had been thought to be the only thing standing between the carp and Lake Michigan. Officials said two weeks ago that DNA from Asian carp had been found between the barrier and a lock near the lake.
於2002年建成的五大湖區電網用於驅趕魚類,而其所帶電壓不足以將它們致死。這些電網曾被認為是阻止亞洲鯉魚進入密西根湖的最後屏障。有官員表示兩周前,在電網和密西根湖附近的一處閘口之間,已發現亞洲鯉魚的DNA。
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and five environmental groups have threatened to sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to force it to temporarily shut three shipping locks near Chicago because of evidence the Asian carp may have breached the electrical barrier. The agency has said it would consider all options but would not close the locks without first studying the possible effects.
由於相關證據表明已出現漏網之魚,密西根州州長詹妮弗?格蘭霍姆和5個環保組織公開表示將起訴美國陸軍工程兵團,以迫使其臨時關閉位於芝加哥附近的3處航運閘口。該機構表示他們將想盡辦法來阻止亞洲鯉魚入侵,但沒有經過初步研究其可能產生的影響,他們不會關閉相關閘口。
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