Illinois Launches Asian Carp Anti-Hunger Program

Illinois Launches Asian Carp Anti-Hunger Program

www.foxnews.com

CHICAGO – Minced Asian carp tacos? How about spaghetti with carp sauce?

Illinois officials hope serving the invasive species on a plate is the creative solution to two big problems: controlling the plankton-gobbling carp from entering the Great Lakes and record numbers of people facing hunger. But the idea has major obstacles, mainly overcoming people's nose-crinkling response to eating a fish that grows to 100 pounds and is able to sail out of the water -- a trait spotlighted in YouTube

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I think this Asian carp thing is a good deal. Instead of handing out free money, hand out fishing poles!

After reading this article I'm more convinced than ever that a lot of "poor" people in the U.S. would starve in any other century or in many other countries today. During the Depression people didn't think they were too good to eat possums, coons, and even armadillos. If it didn't run, swim or fly fast enough, it was fair game. When you are really hungry, you will eat real food, and not demand Taco Bell or Mickey-D's..

www.foxnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

If I was starving, and you told me here is some free fish, I'm going to eat it. Probably not even going to ask what kind of fish it is.

Can't tuna grow to over 100 lbs.?

reply to post by joyride0187


lol. What do you mean poor? You mean those people that have spent two years looking for employment and haven't found a thing? You mean those people that worked for 30 years and then had an accident and had to go on disability? You mean those Americans that worked hard for 40 years and can't make ends meet on their Social Security because everything is so ridiculously expensive?

Oh wait, poverty doesn't exist in America.

Because people like you would have to see our children running the streets and starving to death before you'd actually believe it exists.

Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
reply to post by joyride0187

 

lol. What do you mean poor? You mean those people that have spent two years looking for employment and haven't found a thing? You mean those people that worked for 30 years and then had an accident and had to go on disability? You mean those Americans that worked hard for 40 years and can't make ends meet on their Social Security because everything is so ridiculously expensive?

Oh wait, poverty doesn't exist in America.

Because people like you would have to see our children running the streets and starving to death before you'd actually believe it exists.

I would surmise the OP had "poor" in quotation marks because the standard of living for "poor" in the US doesn't compare to the standard of living of the "poor" in most countries. Poor here have homes, heating, AC, car(s), computer(s), cell phone(s), food, cable, television(s), etc.

I've heard from a couple of my fisheries biologist friends that carp really isn't bad. According to them, it's quite tasty. I've never tried it, but I'm totally willing to just to try something new. I'm sure that the majority of the population isn't as adventurous as me, but if people could find a way to market this fish as food, it may remove enough of these fish from the wild to mitigate some of the negative impacts that they are having on stream and lake ecosystems. I don't know why Americans are so grossed out by eating carp- people in asian countries eat it all the time. In fact, that's how the carp got here-hatcheries were breeding this fish because there was a demand for it from asian immigrants, and the fish escaped into a river (the Mississippi i think? not quite sure). Anyway, cool thread, thanks for posting.

t least they are using some common sense: A Louisiana Chef!

Why eat carp when you can have the "gubment" buy you steak and lobster?

Snopes.com Link

Originally posted by chiefsmom


Can't tuna grow to over 100 lbs.?

Tunas grow to HUNDREDS of pounds.

Originally posted by joyride0187


I think this Asian carp thing is a good deal. Instead of handing out free money, hand out fishing poles!

Because fish have money in them?

Originally posted by oggleboggle47
In fact, that's how the carp got here-hatcheries were breeding this fish because there was a demand for it from asian immigrants, and the fish escaped into a river (the Mississippi i think? not quite sure).

Close...they were brought here by catfish farmers to clean the waters on the catfish farms. There were floods that connected the Catfish ponds to the rivers and the Asian carp escaped into the river system during the high point of the flood. After that they have been slowly making their way up the Mississippi River system.

It almost always seems to be a bad idea for mankind to introduce a species into a area where it has never been active.

reply to post by joyride0187


I have often thought this was a good idea. The mechanics of making it work could prove troublesome but oh well.

Carp can be OK. Depending where it comes from, you can let is sit in clean water for a day or two to "purge" itself. When cleaning, make sure you get rid of the mud vain, skin, fat, etc. After that, well, with some work you can get it to palatable.

reply to post by joyride0187


I think this is a GREAT idea!

...Except for the fact these fish are likely chock-full of toxic contaminants...


S&F& for a good catch.

Some of the best fish I ever had was at Joe Tess's restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, which has a house specialty of deep fried carp. Carp have a lot of tiny little bones in them that make them practically impossible to filet, but if you drop them in batter and fry them at high temperatures, the bones become edible, and the meat comes out as white and sweet and flaky as the best catfish.

Rather than spend $7.99 a pound on other fish, I think it's a good idea to start expanding and exploring other perfectly good alternatives.

I have heard of a fishing boat owner that catches them and processes them for fish oil.

He claims it runs good in his diesel engines on his boat and the remains after the oil is removed he sells as fish meal to gardeners.

The only problem is when its burned in a diesel it gives off a strong fishy smell.
It does not bother the boat owner or crew because the boat always smells fishy.
This smell might cause problems if used in cars or trucks

Jewish people eat it all the time, it's call "Gefilte Fish"

Gefilte fish (/ɡəˈfɪltə fɪʃ/, from Yiddish: געפֿילטע פֿיש, "stuffed fish") is a poached fish mince stuffed into the fish skin.

en.wikipedia.org...

Damn good too.

reply to post by joyride0187


If they can be eaten, then I say fish fry. That is a good thing, but then how many people will say no fish, we want Big Macs and not eat them?

Originally posted by ANNED
I have heard of a fishing boat owner that catches them and processes them for fish oil.

He claims it runs good in his diesel engines on his boat and the remains after the oil is removed he sells as fish meal to gardeners.

The only problem is when its burned in a diesel it gives off a strong fishy smell.
It does not bother the boat owner or crew because the boat always smells fishy.
This smell might cause problems if used in cars or trucks

Better fish than diesel I think. But someone will decide to make a profit from it and then we will be in the same condition we are now.

Originally posted by chiefsmom
If I was starving, and you told me here is some free fish, I'm going to eat it. Probably not even going to ask what kind of fish it is.

Can't tuna grow to over 100 lbs.?

Yes indeed. The largest Bluefin Tuna caught weighed 1,496 pounds.

reply to post by joyride0187


I have to find this amusing. As a teenager in rural Wisconsin, we'd fish the local river for Carp and sell them to the tourists from Illinios. I've eaten some good carp, but don't even think about actually fishing for it as food. There are to many other tasty fish out there to eat.