You've undoubtedly seen photos or videos of large fish literally "jumping into boats" in some rivers in the United States. These fish are called Asian Carp and they seek to potentially destroy the ecosystem of the Great Lakes. The invasive Asian Carp species is worrying officials as it is currently flying and leaping its way up the Mississippi River towards the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Michigan. This fish invasion, if it occurs, would devastate the ecosystem of the Great Lakes, the largest body of fresh water in the world, and would destroy the $7 billion sport fishing industry. The Asian Carp is so feared because an invasion of them in other bodies of water have caused the native fish to die as the Asian Carp eats up to 40% of their body weight in a day, and they number in the hundreds of thousands. The fish can grow to about four feet long and weigh up to 100 pounds, and has been moving up the Mississippi River, destroying it for decades. An electrical barrier was set up to stop the Asian Carp entering the Great Lakes ecosystem, but they appear to have breached that fence and are now only kept out due to a lock for ships outside of Lake Michigan. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association recently awarded the University of Notre Dame $2.5 million to go toward finding a new way to keep the Asian Carp out without closing waterways connecting Chicago's canals to Lake Michigan. "This program is positioned to detect what species will next affect the Great Lakes," said Christopher Jerde, a research assistant professor at Notre Dame. "We will study food chains and webs, locations and economic issues." Jerde said despite the fact that Asian carp, which includes the bighead and silver varieties, have been found below the electric barriers designed to keep the fish inside the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and out of Lake Michigan, it's still not too late to prevent them from taking over the Great Lakes. Good Luck!!! Here's a link to a story about a massive Asian Carp just caught in the Chicago River:84 LB. ASIAN CARP CAUGHT IN CHICAGO RIVER!
