Michigan has declared a winner in its contest – to find new ideas for preventing Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes.

The $200,000 award in the “Carp Tank” competition goes to Edem Tsikata – a software consultant at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

He proposed using specially designed propellers – to generate a wall of bubbles that the fish would find noisy and painful – causing them to turn away.

Tsikata’s mechanism would be installed on a carp-infested Illinois river – that could provide a pathway to Lake Michigan.

Three other proposals also received cash awards.

Scientists say if Asian carp become established in the Great Lakes – they could drive out native species.