What are the worst invasive species in the Great Lakes?
Infamous Great Lakes invaders include the Sea Lamprey, Zebra and Quagga Mussels, Round Goby, and Phragmites. Invasive species are significant and immediate threats to the ecosystems and economies of the Great Lakes basin.
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Invasive (Asian) Carp are one of the biggest threats to the Great Lakes. These non-native fish pose a significant risk if they are allowed to become established.
The Great Lakes Biggest PredatorMichigan's biggest predator in the Great Lakes is a Sea Lamprey. In the very famous words of Randy Jackson, it's going to be a no for me dawg.
Of all of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie had become predominantly polluted by the 1960s, largely due to the heavy industrial presence along its shores. With 11.6 million people living in its basin, and with big cities and sprawling farmland dominating its watershed, Lake Erie is severely impacted by human activities.
Zebra mussels are not native to the Great Lakes. They were first discovered in the area in the late 1980s, and it has been an ongoing battle to get rid of and control them ever since.
While there have been past “sightings,” most have turned out to be pranks or misidentifications. The reality is that the largest of the Great Lakes (Lake Superior and Michigan) are extremely deep lakes that are too cold for sharks.
Invasive carp include bighead carp, black carp, grass carp and silver carp. Find out more about each of these species and about invasive carp in Michigan on each species' profile below.
Lake Superior is the Cleanest and Clearest Great LakeBecause of its somewhat isolated location and long cold winters, not much farming is done along Superior's shores. This means lower amounts of nutrients, sediments, and organic material are floating around the lake.
Lake Superior is safe for swimming. In fact, it has the lowest drowning rate of all the Great Lakes, as reflected in the statistics provided by the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. There were 108 confirmed drownings in the Great Lakes in 2022, along with 12 unknown final outcomes.
Lake Karachay, a small lake in the southern Ural mountains in western Russia, is thought to be the most polluted spot on Earth. Starting in 1951, the Soviet Union used Karachay as a dumping site for radioactive waste from Mayak, a nearby nuclear waste storage and reprocessing facility located near the town of Ozyorsk.