Something all Sportspeople should do

[hoosierarcher]

I watched something on NatGeo last might on Monster Fish. Silver and Bighead carp are over populating the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Wabash, Missouri and all tributary rivers and are threatening the Great Lakes. I believe it is our duty as Sportspeople to help eradicate or as close to possible eradicate them. Bowfish, dip net, cast net, whatever means necessary and catch at least 100 of these invaders 3 days a week. They cook up pretty good as they are considered a delicacy in China and I have personally eaten them and grass carp and all are good grilled, baked or fried. Yes they do have bones but so do every fish. If you don't want to eat them rototiller them into your gardens or dry them out and grind them up for fish meal. and fertilize your fields and lawn with them. We HAVE to knock back their numbers or Native species of fish will suffer.
Actually if I was a financial big wig I'd work out a plan to have them caught and flash chilled and jet fresh deliver them to China. Wild silver and bighead carp are rare their and fish farmed ones sell at a good market price there. Maybe there might be a market for jet fresh wild caught carp there.

[Justin Case]

There are lots of Carp here in The Colorado river and the nearby Lakes, they are the Gold fish type Carp, (Most are brown) anyway, every so often they Die in Mass, only the Carp get this Virus,(Carp Herpes) weird,, here is a little blurp about it,



MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2009

About the Carp dying in Lake Havasu
Apparently the news on the lake is not all about prehistoric piranha (the movie being made about Havasu) - but about the carp dying in the lake.

The following is a press release from the city:

A message from Lake Havasu City Manager Richard Kaffenberger regarding the carp die-off occurring in Lake Havasu and the Lower Colorado River

Visitors and residents enjoying our region over the coming weeks will become aware of the presence of an unusual number of dead fish in the water and along the shoreline of Lake Havasu and the Colorado River. The fish are native carp that have perished from an epidemic of the Koi Herpes Virus, or KHV. According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, KHV affects only carp, goldfish and koi, and is not a threat to other species, including humans.

Fortunately, Lake Havasu visitors have nothing to fear from KHV. Unfortunately, however, the unsightly presence of dead fish and the odor associated with them is an unavoidable consequence of this natural phenomenon.

Lake Havasu City is actively working with community volunteers to help keep popular beaches and coves clean and clear of the dead fish. Given the large number of carp in Lake Havasu, and the limited resources available to keep up with the die-off, however, it is likely visitors will find dead fish in many areas of the lake and river. Parents of curious children and pet owners should take special care to keep from coming into contact with remains that may have washed ashore.

Experts tell us the water quality of Lake Havasu is excellent and swimmers have nothing to fear from KHV or its victims. The good news is we are told the effects of this phenomenon will decline over the coming weeks and eventually become just a stinky memory.
http://havasumagazine.blogspot.com/2009/06/about-carp-dying-in-lake-havasu.html


hmmm,, maybe the virus is introduced purposely, secretly ?

[rwc1969]

This is a scary situation. We definitely need to find some way to put them to use on a mass scale. Oriental folks right across the border in Canada release them live as a sign of good luck...and eat them up as well.

I wonder if through modern processes they could be converted into fuel or something.

They can build up toxins from what they eat though and some of the bigger ones can actually kill you if eaten. I really hope they don't make it into the great lakes. We already have enough German carp, lampreys, zebra mussels, rustic crayfish, gobies, ornamental aquatic plants and such, don't need anymore invaders.

[Rick]

Chicago eateries have been serving them for some time now. There's an upscale place downtown called Lockwood Restaurant and Bar that does a pretty good business of carp.

There's also a fish processing plant on the Illinois River that sells about 2 million pounds of processed carp. I read an article not long ago that they had installed some new freezers and were going to sell Asian Carp to Asia. You gotta love that.

There's some kind of electric fence installed in the Illinois River just south of Chicago that supposed to keep the carp out of the Great Lakes ecosystem.

[NightShade]

The electric fence is not working though.... Just recently I read an article that they are finding them some 80 miles past it and are starting to think that they may already be starting to get a foothold in the great lakes..
Wish I could remember where I saw the article.....

[Justin Case]

The electric fence is not working though.... Just recently I read an article that they are finding them some 80 miles past it and are starting to think that they may already be starting to get a foothold in the great lakes..
Wish I could remember where I saw the article.....

snippet,
To halt their migration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built an underwater electric fence on a canal 20 miles south of Lake Michigan. Despite the barrier, tests now indicate that Asian carp have gotten close to the lake.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120624300

[hoosierarcher]

NatGeo was saying that one Silver carp was caught just 6 miles from Lake Michigan. That would suggest that at least a few have made it into My beloved Great Lakes.

Silver and Bighead carp don't eat the same thing that the common carp eat. Silver are basically plankton/algae eaters. I don't know if that is the same for Bighead but neither of them are bottom feeders like common carp.

I've eaten silver carp and they are quite good. I've cooked them over coals on a screen grill and also deep fried them whole Chinese style and both ways were good.

Someone suggested that they call them Arkansas Salmon to market them to Americans.

[rwc1969]

I'm sure if you gave em a fancy name folks would eat em up.

[Justin Case]

I'm sure if you gave em a fancy name folks would eat em up.

"Beef Steak water cows" ? :innocent:

[BushedOut]

I'm not a big fan of Carp for eating... I guess it goes back to when I used to go fishing in the UK and it was always a goal to catch a specimen Carp and they were respected as a beautiful fish. They are served up in "Fish Balls" in a lot of NY style deli's and Im pretty sure people do not know the main ingredient of these is actually Carp.

They are also very popular in the markets here and are farmed for meat so I guess they must be reasonably tasty. Only ever eaten one in a fish ball so not sure...

[Sarge47]

A good way to take care of the bones in any fish is to 1st cook them in a pressure cooker; this turns the bones to mush. Then bread them & cook them like normal. BTW, anybody ever here of a Carp rising to take a dry fly? :cool2:

[rwc1969]

I had one rise to take a cigarette butt, seriously!