Asian carp close to Great Lakes

Last Updated: Friday, November 20, 2009 | 2:46 PM ET

The Associated Press

A silver carp, an invasive species and a variety of the Asian carp, is pictured by the Illinois River in central Illinois. (Marlin Levison/Star Tribune/Associated Press)

U.S. officials say the despised Asian carp may have breached an electronic barrier designed to prevent it from invading the Great Lakes and jeopardizing their $7-billion sport fishery.

Officials with the Army Corps of Engineers said Friday that DNA of the giant carp have been found north of the barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

If correct, that would mean the carp might reach Lake Michigan if they get through a navigational lock.

From there, they could spread throughout the Great Lakes and out-compete native species for food.

Asian carp escaped from fish farms in the southern U.S. in the 1990s and have been migrating up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.

They can exceed one metre in length and weigh about 50 kilograms.

© The Canadian Press, 2009

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