(MCT) — Asian carp have gotten much bad publicity, as well they should. They’re poster fish for what’s wrong with America’s import laws – or lack of them – regarding how species of plants and animals are brought here from overseas.

Too many examples exist. The anglers who enjoy the Illinois River know that too well. Species like round gobies and zebra mussels came to the Great Lakes by way of the ballast tanks on oceangoing cargo ships. They then made their way down the Illinois River. Asian carp — a term lumping several invasive species of fish together — were brought here to clean domestic catfish ponds and for food. They escaped into the Mississippi River when the ponds were overwhelmed by flooding, and they have been migrating upstream ever since. Millions are being spent to keep them from reaching Lake Michigan.