NOT LARGE ENOUGH TO PUT ON THE BARBIE. There are now freshwater shrimp in Lake Michigan.

Add a bug-eyed shrimp to the ballooning list of Great Lakes invaders that has likely hitchhiked its way into the region aboard an overseas freighter, and nobody can say we didn't have fair warning it was coming.

The shrimp has been deliberately introduced into European waters. (Wasn't that the plan with the Asian carp now taking over the Mississippi?)

The fat-rich shrimp, a high-quality food source, have actually been planted in some reservoirs in Europe to boost fish populations. The problem is the shrimp themselves feed on tiny zooplankton and phytoplankton that directly or indirectly sustain the Great Lakes native fish species, said [David] Reid [of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration].

"It will have an ecosystem effect. How significant that will be, we don't know," he said.

If the coho salmon (themselves a transplant) develop an appetite for the shrimp like the one they exhibited for alewives, sport fishermen will be pleased.

There has been a rule change requiring loaded ships bound for the Lakes to flush their ballast tanks at sea.

The Canadian government began requiring overseas ships to flush their empty ballast tanks with saltwater before entering the Seaway, and early studies show that is an effective means of killing unwanted critters.

Of which the shrimp might be only one. Invasive Species reports something called the Chinese mitten crab has turned up in Lake Superior. (Can you stir fry it and serve it with steamed rice?)