Let Them Eat Carp!

[Mitch f]

Here is a start to the invasive species problem...

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/article_9492759b-5968-5021-9c13-23168664f0d3.html?mode=story

[Tim Smith]

Here is a start to the invasive species problem...

http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/article_9492759b-5968-5021-9c13-23168664f0d3.html?mode=story

Great link, Mitch. Let's hope this effort gets some traction and succeeds.

[Quillback]

Cool, if McD's would start using them for their filet-o-fish we might see them get wiped out.

[eric1978]

Cool, if McD's would start using them for their filet-o-fish we might see them get wiped out.

No kidding, and it can't be any worse than whatever's in a filet-o-"fish" now...at least it would be real FISH.

Or they could grind it up and turn it into dog and cat food and give it to the animal shelters.

Or ship it back to ASIA where the flippin' stink came from in the first place. Let THEM eat carp. They love anything that swims.

[mic]

No kidding, and it can't be any worse than whatever's in a filet-o-"fish" now...at least it would be real FISH.

It is real fish...it is Pacific Pollack.

[eric1978]

It is real fish...it is Pacific Pollack.

That may be what they say, but I don't believe there's any more pollock in those fish patties than there is beef in a Taco Bell taco.

[Kayser]

The problem is that USD is stronger than the Yuan, and therefore fish produced in the US is fairly expensive for the Chinese. Want an example of the production cost disparity? It's cheaper to manufacture all goods in China (just look at where the stuff is made) and ship them to the US than it is to produce them in the US. Then take into account that their poor are poorer than ours, and you soon realize that American-produced asian carp would be out of the price range for most Chinese.

Having eaten these fish, I can say that they are actually pretty good, just harder to clean than a crappie. People just don't 1- want to spend the little extra time to take out the bones, and 2- eat a four-letter word.

But I really do wish McD's would start using the silver/bighead carp- it's white meat, and it's one fish stock that actually needs to be overfished. I just don't think they have a mechanized cleaning process for carp like they do pollock, and can't produce it as cheaply.

Rob

[Tim Smith]

The problem is that USD is stronger than the Yuan, and therefore fish produced in the US is fairly expensive for the Chinese. Want an example of the production cost disparity? It's cheaper to manufacture all goods in China (just look at where the stuff is made) and ship them to the US than it is to produce them in the US. Then take into account that their poor are poorer than ours, and you soon realize that American-produced asian carp would be out of the price range for most Chinese.

Having eaten these fish, I can say that they are actually pretty good, just harder to clean than a crappie. People just don't 1- want to spend the little extra time to take out the bones, and 2- eat a four-letter word.

But I really do wish McD's would start using the silver/bighead carp- it's white meat, and it's one fish stock that actually needs to be overfished. I just don't think they have a mechanized cleaning process for carp like they do pollock, and can't produce it as cheaply.

Rob

Great comments all around.

This is really an area where anglers and commercial fishermen might make a real contribution. "Invasivores" that eat invasive and ecologically harmful species may or may not take enough to make a difference...

...but despite the skeptics it makes a heck of a lot of sense to try.

[eric1978]

The problem is that USD is stronger than the Yuan, and therefore fish produced in the US is fairly expensive for the Chinese. Want an example of the production cost disparity? It's cheaper to manufacture all goods in China (just look at where the stuff is made) and ship them to the US than it is to produce them in the US. Then take into account that their poor are poorer than ours, and you soon realize that American-produced asian carp would be out of the price range for most Chinese.

Well I made that comment tongue-in-cheek...obviously it wouldn't be cost effective to ship tons of chipped bighead halfway 'round the world. Besides, I hear they only like it fresh.

Maybe we can find a way to just trade them straight up...we give their factory workers the only meal they can afford, and they give us some of that cheap plastic garbage they make.