Scientists tally $200 million loss from Great Lakes invasive species

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- A scientific report says invasive species that reached the Great Lakes in ballast tanks of oceangoing ships may cost the regional economy about $200 million a year.

The study says 57 of the 84 invasives that became established in the lakes after the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959 were transported in ballast water. Among them are zebra mussels, the Eurasian ruffe and the round goby.

Sectors of the regional economy hit particularly hard by invasives include commercial and sport fishing, wildlife viewing and use of water for municipal systems and industry.

Scientists from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Wyoming say their numbers are preliminary and pertain only to the eight U.S. states on the Great Lakes. They say Canada also has suffered economically from invasive species.