WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, SportsDoyle talks to Obama Administration officials about invasive carp

Doyle talks to Obama Administration officials about invasive carp

WASHINGTON DC (WAOW)--Governor Jim Doyle met with President Barack Obama's chief science adviser in Washington to talk about how to prevent Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.

DNA from the large carp was discovered in Lake Michigan, near Chicago, last month. Scientists say the fish could devastate the Great Lakes' $7 billion fishing industry.

Doyle says Wisconsin has seen invasive species before, but Asian Carp are particularly voracious. "They were introduced in Arkansas in the 1970's to help clean up the fish ponds, got into the Mississippi waterways and have worked their way up the river cleaning out whole fisheries as they've gone along," Doyle said in a phone interview from Washington DC. "So the real danger here is that if they have sustaining colonies in the Great Lakes, they will squeeze out all of the natural fishery."

The Obama Administration is taking aggressive steps and pledged $78.5 million to fix the problem.

They'll also consider opening navigational locks on Chicago-area waterways less frequently to prevent the carp from overrunning the Great Lakes.