CBS Detroit: Bipartisan House bill aimed at halting spread of invasive mussel species in Great Lakes

Two Michigan Congressional representatives have introduced a bipartisan bill to help protect the Great Lakes from invasive species of mussels. 

The Save the Great Lakes Fish Act, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Michigan, and cosponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, calls for the development by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission for increased efforts to combat further spread of quagga, zebra and similar species of mussels. 

Specifically, the bill would authorize $500 million over 10 years for federal agencies to work with the Fishery Commission, along with state, tribal and local governments, on a coordinated plan. 

Invasive mussels were first detected in the Great Lakes during the 1980s. They have caused disruptions in the habitat by reducing the food available to other species and allowing the sun's UV rays to reach deeper into the water, the legislators said. Both circumstances have rippling effects on native fish species. 

Dingell said a population collapse among whitefish from 1990s levels has been observed, and whitefish typically accounts for 80% of Michigan's commercial catch. 

"This is an urgent problem that requires an urgent, robust plan of attack, and that's what we aim to do with this bill," she said. 

"The ecological health and well-being of our Great Lakes fisheries is vital to Michigan's economy and our way of life," Walberg said. 

House of Representatives Bill 6053 has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.