Chicago-based Asian carp dog treat helping save Great Lakes from invasive fish

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An invasive fish that's getting dangerously close to the waters of Lake Michigan, is slowly finding a new fate in the form of a dog treat. And pets are taking the bait.

"There are four different types of Asian Carp but we use Silver Carp," said Gabriel Huertas del Pino, Co-Founder of Archway Pet. "It's wild caught, so there's no inputs. We're actually kicking something out of the environment that's creating harm."

Archway Pet is a Chicago-based company that was born from a pet project of Gabriel Huertas del Pino and Adam Mutschler.

But their first ingredient wasn't fish.

"We bought cricket flour on Amazon, looked up a biscuit recipe and I was the stranger on the street, walking around with biscuits asking people if their dogs would try these treats," said Mutschler.

They still use cricket powder and other sustainable ingredients - but just recently added the bony, but tasty silver carp to their lineup.

Currently, Archway Pet offer three silver carp treats. And they're soon launching a Silver Carp dog food.

"It's honestly something like a dream protein for dogs and cats," explained Huertas del Pino. "It's very difficult to filet, but it goes really easily into pet products because you can mince the bones and break them up that way."

The fight to keep Asian carp out of our great lakes has been an uphill battle.

"They grow faster, they produce faster and they just take up way more space. So they're essentially crowding out native species," said Mutschler.

Archway Pet fishes the carp out of the Mississippi River, where there's an abundance of supply.

"We're doing what we can. There's millions of pounds available in Illinois alone, so we're making a very small dent," said Huertas del Pino.

There are other benefits to this apparently dog-approved delicacy.

White fish is a hypoallergenic protein. And it's a good alternative to meat-based products - a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

"Pets in the U.S. consume 30% of all the protein consumed in the United States," said Mutschler. "That would make them the fifth largest country in the world for meat consumption."

"I think diet's a good word for it.. You can't give your dog bacon for every meal," said Huertas del Pino. " You have to have a steady balance form of nutrition that has vitamins and minerals, and we're just including one more aspect, which is having that product be impactful."

Archway Pet food can be found online or on select store shelves, including Mariano's and Wiggleyville stores.