NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Even as scientists scramble to prevent Asian carp from moving into the Great Lakes, some worry the spring flooding along the Mississippi River may be spreading the invasive species into many formerly carp-free bodies of water.

Duane Chapman, a U.S. Geological Survey biologist and Asian carp expert, says the fish may show up in lakes, ponds and bayous that took the river’s floodwaters. They may not be able to breed in many locations, but the fish have a life expectancy of 25 years and so could be crowding out food sources of native species for decades.

Asian carp were brought to the United States in the early 1970s to control algae in catfish farms in the South. Floods washed them into the Mississippi River in the 1980s.

Posted 6/10/2011