Officials plan monitoring to keep carp from lakes

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Federal and state officials are announcing a new round of monitoring and water sampling in Chicago-area waterways to prevent Asian carp from becoming established in the Great Lakes.

Leaders of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee have scheduled a news conference for Monday to provide details of the latest initiative. It's designed to track the movements of bighead and silver carp in the waterways and remove as many of them as possible.

The unwanted carp have migrated up the Mississippi River and its tributaries, including a Chicago shipping canal where an electric barrier about 25 miles from Lake Michigan is meant to block their path.

The carp are prolific breeders and heavy eaters. Scientists say if large numbers reach the Great Lakes, they could starve out other fish species.