Army Corps To Turn Up Juice On Asian Carp Zapper

(Traverse City-WWJ) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to crank up the voltage on an electronic barrier intended to prevent the invasive Asian carp from entering Lake Michigan.

The Corps released a report by a group of independent scientists on progress in searching for the elusive fish on both sides of the barrier in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a man-made link between the Mississippi River basin and Lake Michigan.

The Corps says the two-year old electronic barrier is performing well and there's no evidence that any carp have breached it.

The Obama administration has pledged more than $125 million to protect the Great Lakes from two species of Asian carp that have been migrating north for over 30 years.

It's feared the voracious fish, notorious bottom-feeders, could decimate the multi-billion dollar Great Lakes sport fishing industry.

(Copyright 2011 WWJ Newsradio 950. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press Contributed To This Story)