TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Canadian and U.S. scientists announced Tuesday the launch of a joint study that will look at the likelihood that Asian carp will spread across the Great Lakes and decimate the fish populations if allowed to gain a foothold.
The 18-month study will be the first joint effort by the two nations to evaluate possible consequences of an invasion by bighead and silver carp — Asian species threatening to enter Lake Michigan through Chicago-area rivers and canals.
"We have seen the destructive behavior" of Asian carp in parts of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, where they have disrupted the food web by hogging the plankton on which many fish depend, said Becky Cudmore, senior research scientist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. "We are not taking the threat to the Great Lakes lightly."
Canadian researchers produced an initial assessment in 2004 and U.S. experts did likewise the following year. The new project will aim to resolve differences between them while yielding new information about the carp threat, said Marc Gaden, spokesman for the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.
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