Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Chicago Chef has an Answer to the Asian Carp Problem

Doesn't mean we shouldn't work to keep them out of the Great Lakes - but one Chicago chef has found some tasty solutions for dealing with these fish. This story ran on ABC World News Tonight last Saturday:



Illinois wildlife officials are starting a new hunt for the fish in rivers and canals near the electric barriers, trying to find solid evidence of their presence in the area.

"We have got to find where these fish are at so we can hopefully validate the (DNA) evidence," McCloud said.

Crews will focus on areas where warm water from industrial operations enters the waterways. Fish tend to congregate near the warmer water in the winter as temperatures drop. Workers and fishermen will use commercial fishing nets and electrofishing to search over the next two to three weeks, officials said.

So far, only the one fish has been found - we will see if this search turns up any more. If so, time to look into those recipes, or maybe even further opportunities for export. Didn't President Obama say something about increasing US exports? Well, let's send them back to China.

Some estimate the Illinois River has tens of millions of pounds of harvestable Asian carp, a tantalizing prospect for anglers and entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on this slimy, silvery gold rush.

Schafer Fisheries alone processes about 12 million pounds of carp a year from a 30,000-square-foot facility near the banks of the Mississippi River, across from Iowa. Nearly 10 million pounds are shipped to China, Japan, Canada and Europe, McNitt said. The remaining 2 million pounds go to restaurants and ethnic grocery markets in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Something to consider if we can't find a way to stop them.