I used to be a pretty decent fisherman, but never did my efforts lead me to a billion dollars. That's the amount of money a new report says is being poured into the state of Illinois right now and it's all a part of a huge fish battle apparently.

I saw this interesting story just shared by MSN from Bloomberg Business. They tell the tale (no fish pun intended) of how a billion dollars (yes, billion with a capital B) is what it's costing the feds to try and stop invasive carp who have been creating havoc in Illinois streams and rivers.

Here's the short version of what they're talking about. Having invasive carp wrecking the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers are bad enough, but the real concern is that they'll make it all the way to Lake Michigan. There's a pinch point known as the Brandon Road Interbasin Project.

It was 14 years ago when The Guardian dubbed these fish "terminator carp" and, while that's a bit overdramatic, the problem really is apocalyptic if they eventually invade the Great Lakes.

If you're familiar with the Redneck Fishing Tournament, these carp in Illinois are the reason. There's a bounty put on the heads of these invasive fish. Now, the price tag being put on stopping these carp by the government is being put at $1 billion dollars. Here's the kicker from the MSN story. The government knows the fish may figure out a way to foil their efforts. Can you imagine delegating $1 billion dollars to something that might not even work? That's government efficiency for you.

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Gallery Credit: Urban Treks via YouTube

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