Five States Sue Over Invasion of Asian Carp

Five states are suing the federal government and Chicago's water department in federal court, demanding stronger action to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania filed the lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in northern Illinois.

It seeks an order to close Chicago shipping locks and gates that could provide a pathway to Lake Michigan for the voracious fish.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused twice this year to order the locks closed.

State officials say the situation has become more urgent since a live Asian carp was found within a few miles of Lake Michigan last month.

It was the first time the fish was found beyond electric barriers constructed to keep the dreaded invasive species out of the Great Lakes.

Commercial fishermen had found the 3-foot-long, 20-pound carp in Lake Calumet on Chicago's South Side, about six miles downstream of Lake Michigan, according to the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee.

The carp were imported from China in the 1970s to clean southern fish hatcheries of algae. But floods in the 1990s swept them into the Mississippi and its tributaries, including the Illinois River and the shipping canal that connects that river to Lake Michigan.

The voracious eaters consume 40 percent of their weight every day. They spawn three times a year - and have no known predators.

Scientists and fishermen fear that if the carp (which can grow to 100 pounds and 4 feet in length) become established in the Great Lakes, they could starve out popular sport fish and ruin the region's $7 billion fishing industry.

The suit also asks for an expedited study of permanently separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins.