Tests have confirmed that a species of Asian Carp, found off Point Pelee last week, was fertile.
Geoff Peach of the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says the next step is to determine if there is a viable breeding population in that area.
If there is a breeding population, Peach says action needs to be taken as quickly as possible to control them. He points out that as with plant and animal invasive species, once they're here -- they're here to stay. It's not known how the Grass Carp got into Lake Erie.
The Grass Carp is the least destructive of the four species of Asian Carp. The other three; the Silver Carp, the Big Head Carp and the Black Carp are much larger and far more destructive.
Peach says those three are currently being kept out of Lake Michigan by two electric fences in the Chicago Shipping Canal while the courts decide if a permanent structure is needed there.