Asian Carp: Danger or Dinner?

Controversy surrounding the invasive threat of Asian carp to the Great Lakes region reaches the Supreme Court today, where six states are suing the state of Illinois for moving too slowly to prevent the fishes' entrance into Lake Michigan. Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, all states that border the Great Lakes, allege that region's ecosystem would be devastated by the fast-breeding, big-eating Asian carp, which can reach 80 pounds.

The fish were initially imported to the U.S. for use in fish farming. They escaped from hatcheries and catfish ponds in the South in the 70s, then swam as far upstream as the North Shore Channel of the Chicago River, which feeds into Lake Michigan.

But entrepreneurs are looking for a silver lining in those cloudy waters - going so far as to re-brand the fish as "silverfin" and serve them up to consumers as "a cross between scallops and crab meat." The fish has never caught on in traditional American cuisine, but it shows up in international recipes from Poland to Vietnam.

It's an admirable venture and creative solution to dealing with an invasive species, especially considering that the most popular (and ineffective) means of dealing with the fish has been to poison them. But the Great Lakes region is certainly not known for its pristine waters. Just a few miles north of where the Asian carp were discovered by the Army Corp of Engineers, levels of PCBs are high enough for the EPA to restrict fish and wildlife consumption. Perhaps a well-thought out sustainable fishery ought to be on the menu.

Photo courtesy of Kate Gardiner at Flickr.com