Kill Carp, Make a Million Bucks
Bob McNally 02.06.17
You’ve surely seen those videos from the upper Midwest of high-leaping fish slamming into boaters and water-skiers, as the folks swat them, catch them in nets, or arrow them as they arch across the sky.
The high-leaping silvery fish are Asian silver or bighead carp, which have taken over huge expanses of waterways and are a major threat to devastating the Great Lakes and it’s $40 billion annual recreational fishing budget. The carp grow to 50 pounds, are prolific breeders, and devastate natural forage and fish such as walleyes and perch, plus upset the natural food chain.
With no effective predators, Asian carp are poised to take over the Great Lakes, so Michigan’s DNR has ponied up a cool $1 million reward to the person who can figure out a way to keep the invasive fish from spreading over the most important part of the freshwater lakes region in the Upper Midwest.
Only an electronic barrier near Chicago is preventing the carp from entering the Great Lakes and destroying the largest freshwater lake eco-system in the world. But if you can figure a way to halt the threat of this carp invasion, the Michigan DNR wants to hear from you ASAP.
