Asian carp – notorious among biologists for their big appetites and knack for decimating healthy ecosystems – have infiltrated waters only ten kilometers from the Great Lakes, and Canadian environmental groups are calling for U.S. government intervention to prevent the fish from contaminating Canadian waters.

According to Asian Carp Control, “the Great Lakes are at serious risk” from these “voracious” fish.

Asian carp are capable of eating 5 – 20 per cent of their body weight in a day, and can grow to be over 100 lbs. They will consume as much plankton and algae as they can find, leaving little sustenance for indigenous species of fish.

The carp are traveling north through the Chicago Waterway System, an artificial network of canals that connects the Great Lakes to the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.

Hugh Wilkins, a lawyer with Ecojustice Canada, believes more needs to be done to protect the Great Lakes. While there is an electrical barrier in place to stop Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, Wilkins says it isn’t enough.

U.S. authorities installed the electric barrier in order to keep the carp in check while leaving the canal open for shipping purposes. However, the barrier must be periodically shut down for maintenance. When this last occurred in December 2009, poison was dumped into the water to contain the carp, killing many other fish as well.

“We’re hoping to participate in the matter,” Wilkins says, but “the U.S. federal government doesn’t seem to have the Great Lakes as a priority.”

The Ontario government has already tried to take part in United States Supreme Court proceedings related to the Asian carp issue, but has not been successful.

On June 4, CBC News reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had plans to place screens near the shipping locks that link the already-infested waterways with Lake Michigan.

At that time, they had “no immediate plans to close shipping locks” to contain the destructive species, a step which Wilkins says is essential in keeping the carp out of Canadian waters.

Asian carp were imported into the southern U.S. to bolster fish markets and keep aquaculture facilities clean. In addition to being invasive and incredibly prolific, they also have the unusual response of jumping out of the water when frightened.

Since escaping into the Mississippi and Illinois River systems in the early 1980s, these fish have “left a trail of destruction” – and several black eyes – in their wake.

To visually experience the Asian carp, see this video:

Shannon Smart is completing a practicum at The Tyee.