It's About Time!

[ollie]

Saw this today and thought it was about time and was actually wondering when a business would start up to help the cause. They say they aren't getting rich, but if they are making money and getting rid of the carp then I say win-win!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/illinois-company-testing-market-asian-170805476.html

[fishinwrench]

I bet that place smells lovely.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I agree Ollie. They're a different animal then our commons and have the ability to do a lot more damage. What does chap me is that the gubmit doesn't send some seed money into canning them? With a slight name change after canning they could be a great alternative to some tuna stocks that are in decline. I've had commons that were canned and made up as patties and they are good, I under stand that the Asians are even better tasting.

[Riverwhy]

I caught a 36 pound big head carp on Sunday fishing with a rogue. After much teasing I cleaned the beast and I'm going to send him to the deep fryer. The flesh was much whiter than a regular carp.

[Wayne SW/MO]

I caught a 36 pound big head carp on Sunday fishing with a rogue. After much teasing I cleaned the beast and I'm going to send him to the deep fryer. The flesh was much whiter than a regular carp.

Let us know what you think.

[ollie]

China loves them, but it isn't feasible to ship them without a problem. As a filler for animal feed I don't see a problem if they keep the quality up. There are plenty of them right now! I have heard they are good table fare as well.

[Quillback]

Good deal.

[Quillback]

I noticed it said they are paying fishermen a dime per lb. for those things. You would need to catch literally tons per day to make it worthwhile.

[fishinwrench]

I'm thinking it would cost more than .10/lb. to transport them to the place.

Not sure that's enough incentive to keep the supply coming in, which is gonna result in the plant closing before November and never reopening.

[Tim Smith]

I actually approached a feed company about this a few years ago as an alternative for shrimp feed or other animal feed. The source proteins for those feeds are already so cheap that the transport costs alone made the Asian carp prohibitively expensive in comparison. They'll need to make it as a human food if they're going to be cost effective.

A couple of other things,

Fish for fish, common carp are probably still more destructive, but as a population as their current level of density you could easily argue Asian carp are worse than common carp.

Also, I believe there have been several government initiatives to promote the commercialization of Asian carp. I agree more should be done, but the basic hurdle is going to be getting the public to accept them. Until they have market value, nothing's going to work. There are not enough taxes in the world to subsidize them into submission.