Quinn floats plan to catch, eat Asian carp

CHICAGO -- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn says if you can't beat Asian carp, then you eat them.

Quinn on Tuesday announced an agreement with a Chinese meat processing company and an Illinois fishery to catch the fish and ship them to China where they are a delicacy.

Quinn says the idea is to harvest the invasive fish from Illinois rivers before they get into the Great Lakes.

The plan is to harvest at least 30 million pounds of fish by the end of next year.

Biologists fear the voracious fish that can grow to 100 pounds will destroy the Great Lakes by starving out native species.

A live carp was recently found six miles from Lake Michigan, leading to renewed calls to permanently block any connections between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds.