Leaders push for measures to keep Asian carp from doing huge damage to state's fishing industry.
THE LATEST: Two of Minnesota's top elected officials said Monday that Asian carp are poised to invade state waters and represent a major threat to the state's $2.2 billion fishing industry.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Attorney General Lori Swanson pledged to push to get faster federal help for a variety of projects, including barriers to stop the fish from migrating farther north, and long-term research on methods to kill the fish or slow their reproduction.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? Bighead and silver carp are voracious eaters that destroy food and habitat for native fish.
Silver carp can jump up to 10 feet out of the water when disturbed by motors, and bighead carp can weigh as much as 100 pounds.
"Failure to address the spread of carp could result in literally the loss of billions of dollars to the regional economy," Klobuchar said.
WHAT'S HAPPENING?
•Congress is considering bills to close Chicago area locks and canals to keep the carp out of Lake Michigan and to separate the Mississippi River basinfrom Lake Michigan.
•Swanson and attorneys general from four other Great Lakes states filed a federal lawsuit in Illinois last week to press for similar actions.
•Gov. Tim Pawlenty sent a letter to President Obama on July 9 suggesting "an emergency summit."
BUT NOT ALL AGREE: The Illinois barge industry opposes closing the Chicago locks, saying that would disrupt millions of dollars of commerce.
SWANSON'S RESPONSE: "Too bad." Barge cargo may need to be transferred to trucks and railways, she said.
ABOUT ASIAN CARP: Imported to clean southern fish ponds in the 1970s, some carp escaped and began migrating north. They are also moving up the Mississippi River.
MINNESOTA CONNECTION: Commercial fishermen in the Winona area caught several last year, and one was netted as far north as Lake Pepinin 2007.
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