WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will not allow the immediate closure of shipping locks to prevent invasive Asian carp from infesting the Great Lakes.
The court on Tuesday refused a request by Michigan to issue a preliminary injunction that would order the locks closed.
Asian carp have been migrating up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers toward the Great Lakes for decades. They have swarmed waterways near Chicago leading to Lake Michigan.
Scientists fear that if they reach the lakes, they could disrupt the food chain and endanger the $7 billion fishery.
The biggest Asian carp can reach 4 feet in length and weigh 100 pounds while consuming up to 40 percent of their body weight daily in plankton, the base of the food chain for Great Lakes fish.