双语:Predatory Fish: The Carp Tsar's Struggle
发布时间:2018年06月22日
发布人:nanyuzi  

Predatory Fish: The Carp Tsar's Struggle

掠食性鱼类:鲤鱼裁决者的苦斗

 

Bureaucrats attempt to fend off invading fish

政府试图阻隔入侵鱼类

 

The war against Asian carp hardly seems a fair fight. Since November 2009, when traces of the fish were found near Chicago, federal and state officials have used nets, electric shocks and poison to keep them out of the Great Lakes. This month the White House appointed a carp tsar to oversee the campaign. But government moves slowly. Fish do not.

 

抑制亚洲鲤鱼入侵之战看起来根本就不像是一场公平的对决。200911月,在芝加哥附近发现了掠食性鱼种,联邦和州官员使用捕鱼网,电击和投毒等方式,希望能把这些鱼类从五大湖区剔除掉。该月,白宫指派一位鲤鱼总督监察这项运动。但是政府的行动速度较慢。鲫鱼的发展速度却是让人吃惊。

 

Introduced in Arkansas in the 1970s, Asian carp have swum up the Mississippi River, eating and spawning ravenously. The silver carp, capable of spectacular leaping, batter fishermen. An annual Redneck Fishing Tournament now brings men to the Illinois River with baseball bats in hand, keen to get their revenge.

 

在二十世纪七十年代在阿肯色引进亚洲鲫鱼之后,该鱼种就溯游到密西西比河,贪婪地狂吃食物和快速繁衍。这种银色的鲤鱼,跳跃时的场面非常壮观,甚至能撞倒捕鱼者身上。在一场年度Redneck捕鱼比赛中,人们都拿着棒球拍来到伊利诺斯河,醉心于他们的复仇行动了。

 

The past year has seen a torrent of measures to keep the Great Lakes free of them. The White House has allotted $79m for the fight. The new carp tsar should ensure better co-ordination. The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) is building fences to contain fish during floods. A new electrical barrier – two already exist – will soon be finished.

 

去年采取的一系列的举措使得五大湖区这些鱼类的踪影消失了。美国政府为这场斗争投入了7900万美元。这位新的鲤鱼总督应该能够充当更好的协调剂。在洪涝期间,陆军工程兵在鲫鱼所在的水域围起了栅栏,把鲫鱼圈起来。新的电子屏障(有两个已经存在),将会在短期内完成。

 

But progress is undermined by government’s two favourite activities. First, bureaucrats love planning. The Army Corps thinks that strobe lights and a “bubble curtain” will deter carp. But any underwater disco must wait for funding and a demonstration project. Second, there is endless bickering. In June a carp was found just six miles (10km) from Lake Michigan. A fight ensued over whether the fish was planted there. In July five state attorneys-general sued the ACE and Chicago’s water district, demanding that they should temporarily close two locks connecting Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River basin. The fight has turned nasty, though both sides agree on one point: closing the locks would not necessarily keep carp out.

 

但是该进程在政府都喜好的两项行动中遭到了破坏。首先,政府干事情都爱要规划一下。陆军工程兵认为闪光灯和水帘能够对鲫鱼起到抑制作用。但是任何在水下的迪斯科舞必须要资金援助和示范项目。其次,第二个活动就是喜欢无休止的争论。6月份,在离密歇根湖仅6英里(10千米)的地方,有人发现了一条鲤鱼。关于鲫鱼是否已经在那里繁衍生息的斗争开始了。在7月,五名州检察长起诉陆军工程兵和芝加哥所在的水域,要求他们临时结束对密歇根湖连接至密西西比河盆的封锁。尽管双方在一点达成一致,但是整个战斗还是一片狼藉:因为结束对其的封锁不会一定将鲤鱼阻隔在外面。

 

The only foolproof solution is to separate the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River, as was once the case – today’s worry is caused by a 110-year-old canal, vital for sewage disposal and transport. That would take decades. In June Midwestern senators proposed a bill to speed up a study of the issue. That bill is now stuck. In July a coalition of cities and states decided to conduct a separate study. The ACE has a draft of its “project management plan” – a draft of the plan for the study. Still the carp head north.

 

唯一十分简单的解决方案是将五大湖与密西西比河断开,这曾经是过去发生的事情了,今天的担忧是过去110年前开凿的运河造成的,这条河对污水处理和货物运输十分重要。这条河的开通曾花费了数十年的光景。在6月份,中西部的国会议员提出方案,要加速对这一问题的研究。那项立案如今成了芒刺。在7月份,各城市和州决定对此进行独立研究。陆军工兵团起草了“项目管理计划”,以便对该问题进行研究。但是当下鲤鱼却勇敢无畏的向北部进发。


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