MONROE — Biologists from nearly a dozen U.S. and Canadian agencies have gathered here this week to conduct a dress rehearsal for a show they hope never opens. They are practicing their preparedness to respond to a potential aquatic invasive species crisis, primarily with Asian carp.

The representatives from natural resource entities in Ohio, Michigan, and several other Great Lakes states, joined their counterparts from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Geological Survey; and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, as well as Fisheries & Oceans Canada to compare notes and sampling methodologies, review the logistics involved in an interjurisdictional response plan, and conduct an intensive search for grass carp in the waters of Lake Erie near Sterling State Park and Bolles Harbor.

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“We are in prevention mode, so all of the focus is on that,” said Becky Cudmore, Asian carp program manager with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

After organizational meetings Monday evening, the group planned to spend the next three days on the water, weather permitting, using electro-fishing and netting to determine the presence of grass carp, one of the four types of Asian carp that are considered a threat to the ecosystem of the Great Lakes, and the $7 billion sportfishing industry. As of Wednesday afternoon, the effort had located just one grass carp, a 30-pound specimen netted near Bolles Harbor.

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While Michigan and Ohio biologists have received scattered reports of rogue grass carp in Lake Erie from commercial fishermen for more than a decade, with 18 such incidents in Michigan in 2013, Ms. Cudmore said this is not just a U.S. issue.

“It’s easy for people to see this as an ‘our side–your side’ of the lake thing, but the solution lies with all of us working together.”

Nick Popoff with the Fisheries Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, one of the approximately 65 individuals taking part in the field exercise, said this week’s session will allow the varied agencies to put in place an incident command system in the event of an emergency relating to invasive species.

“We’re all here to go over planning, operations, and logistics because this isn’t any one state or province’s problem, this is a Great Lakes basin problem,” he said. “And we’re all on the same team, especially when dealing with the threat posed by Asian carp.”

The term “Asian carp” refers to four species — grass carp, bighead carp, silver carp, and black carp. They were brought to this continent by commercial fish farmers in the Southern United States more than 40 years ago to control vegetation and algae. Grass, bighead, and silver carp escaped those operations during floods, or were released into the wild, and have populated sections of the Mississippi River basin, and presented a threat to the Great Lakes.

Grass carp feed primarily on aquatic vegetation and have been used for decades to control plant growth in small ponds, but in larger waters they are considered a serious hazard to the nesting areas of waterfowl. Ohio and 42 other states permit the sale of sterile grass carp for vegetation control in ponds, but a few non-sterile individuals have been found in the Lake Erie system, including in the Sandusky River and bay area, and the lone grass carp this field exercise located on Tuesday.

Bighead and silver carp are considered a more serious threat to the Great Lakes, because they are prolific breeders and feeders, consuming plankton, the algae, and other microscopic organisms that are a vital part of the aquatic food web for native fish. Large stretches of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers are dominated by bighead and silver carp.

“Grass carp in Lake Erie are a very different animal than the bighead and silver carp that we fear,” said Tammy Newcomb, senior water policy adviser for the MDNR. “Grass carp are nowhere near as destructive as what those other fish have the capacity to be.”

Rich Carter, fish administrator with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said Wednesday that it was unique to see biologists from Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and Minnesota working with counterparts from Ontario, Ohio, and Michigan, but such a field exercise was important.

“We are using science to drive the process,” Mr. Carter said. “But the big thing is all of the collaboration.”

There are a dozen electro-shocking boats, four gill net boats, and one commercial seine net boat involved in the field exercise.

“This is the dry run,” said Kelly Baerwaldt, the Asian carp coordinator for the USFWS. “We’ve learned from the past not to be taken by surprise by these things, so it’s nice to see such a proactive approach. We need to say ahead of this problem.”

Contact Blade outdoors editor Matt Markey at: mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6068.

First Published September 11, 2014, 4:00 a.m.