The greatest threats to the Great Lakes

Monday, May 4, is Great Lakes Awareness Day, and we’re celebrating what makes the Great Lakes so unique for our state. It’s a summer vacation spot, but there’s also a threat that our state is trying to protect the lakes from. Those are invasive species. The Great Lakes are home to nearly 140 types of native fish species, like trout, walleye and bass that Michiganders have fished for generations. But 180 non-native species now live in the Great Lakes, and about a third of them are considered invasive, meaning they do not belong here and are doing damage. The three biggest threats are zebra mussels, sea lamprey and invasive carp. Each one is quietly disrupting the ecosystem that millions of people and animals depend on every single day. Ceci Weibert, the Michigan Aquatic Invasive Species Program Coordinator for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, joined Local 4 Live to talk more about the invasive species in Michigan.