The New “Other White Meat”
Invasive Asian Carp Emerges as Source of New U.S. Commercial Fishing Enterpise
We all knew it was just a matter of time before the Asian carp became the new frontier for commercial fishing.
The wait is now over.
Big River Fish Company in Pearl, IL, plans to send 44,000 pounds of the voracious, invasive species back to high-end restaurants in Asia. The small startup, operating out of a 12,000-square-foot plant, freezes the fish whole in preparation for shipment to China.
And word has it that, while the look of the Asian carp is not particularly appetizing, its white meat is very appealing. It is also solid and takes on the taste of sauces when it is cooked.
The marketing strategy by Big River Fish Co. represents a new wrinkle in efforts to find solutions for controlling the spread of the Asian carp, which is a potential threat to the $7 billion sport fishing industry in the Great Lakes.
Several states have filed lawsuits seeking more aggressive efforts to keep the fish from reaching the Great Lakes. Bills to seal off a channel in Chicago that is linked to Lake Michigan are pending in Congress and the White House has appointed a carp czar to oversee federal efforts to curtail the advances of the fish.
Meanwhile, Carp DNA and at least one fish have been found beyond an electronic barrier. Environmentalists are working to try and determine how many of the carp are actually in the lake.
Asian carp can weigh up to 100 pounds. They have been feasting on native fish and plankton in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers since they were introduced to U.S. waters to clear algae in the 1970s. The population has now reached the stage where it can support a commercial enterprise.
Big River Fish Co. received $2 million in federal funding to expand its processing plant after securing a contract with a company in China for 30 million pounds of carp meat. The expansion is expected be completed in the spring of 2011.
The company is working with about 100 independent fishermen to help fill orders. An average fish weighs 30 pounds. The current price to wholesales is about $8 per fish.
Obviously, supply is not an issue. One of the main issues involves whether Chinese restaurants should reclaim all of this potential bounty. The Asian carp has already landed on menus in some parts of the United States and it may not be long before the fish is being plated in a restaurant near you.
