Asian Carp swim closer to Great Lakes

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The destructive Asian Carp is swimming closer to the Great Lakes these days, threatening to invade our waters.

New York's Junior Senator is staging a fight to keep them out.

Friday morning New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand renewed her call to stop the spread of Asian Carp from entering into one of our biggest natural resources, the Great Lakes.

Jumping fish may look funny but these Asian Carp are no laughing matter.

The problem is these 100 pound fish eat a lot of plankton, about 40 percent of their body weight.

Experts fear if they invade our New York State waterways they could potentially destroy the current fish populations, devastating the multi-billion dollar fishing industry.

Jim Hanley has been in the fishing industry for 32 years.

Hanley says he's frustrated and compared what could happen on the Great Lakes to the oil disaster affecting fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico.

Erie Charter Captain Jim Hanley said, "If the Asian Carp come into Lake Erie the fish that we basically fish for, as charter captains been doing it for 32 years, will basically be gone."

"I already think the barn door and were closing it after the horses are out, because it could have been done years ago," said Hanley.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, "I'm renewing my call on the Coast Guard, the Army Corps and the EPA and the fish and wildlife serve to immediately close the locks connecting the Mississippi River system and the Great Lakes system."

The senator says closing the locks is a temporary solution. Gillibrand says it will give officials more time to come up with a plan to prevent Asian carp from entering New York's waterways.

But fishermen like Jim Hanley told News 4 he believes time is running out.