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By Mark Bivens

Professional fisherman and television celebrity Bill Dance doesn’t find anything funny or remotely amusing about Asian carp, especially after he was injured by one of the flying fish. Haven’t heard about Asian carp? You will. It will probably soon be in a waterway near you.

Asian carp are already in the Mississippi River and have worked their way into the Illinois River. They’re not content to stay in the Mississippi River. They’re branching out into other waterways. 

Asian carp were introduced into the southern United States in the 1970s to help catfish farmers rid their ponds of algae. But flood waters washed them into the Mississippi River and that’s where the trouble started. These invaders have driven out other more desirable species. They can reach 100 pounds. They consume as much as 40 percent of their body weight in plankton each and every day.

Asian carp are apparently startled by the sound and/or vibrations of boat motors. They leap from the water high into the air when boats approach. Some of those bass boats tooling down the river at 50 miles per hour could see fishermen hit by these giant slimy carp, and injuries have been reported, including Bill Dance, who was hit in the shoulder. One jet skier suffered a broken nose and arm after being hit by a carp.

But as Americans have always done, some are taking these lemons and making lemonade, so to speak. Commercial fishermen in Illinois complained that the carp were wiping out more profitable catches. One commercial fisherman reported his nets were often full of carp. So he created a market for them. Carp are considered a delicacy in Asia. He targeted larger cities in the United States that had a big Asian-American population, and went to those markets to sell the carp. Now the Asian carp are his best source of income. His profits have doubled.

He admitted he doesn’t make much per pound, about 15 cents, but he had caught as much as 12,000 pounds of carp a day on the Illinois River.

People have bad perceptions of carp, considering them “trash fish.” Some years ago some restaurants in northern cities said catfish didn’t appeal to their customers because of the name. Some northern restaurants changed the name of catfish on the menu to rosefish.

Illinois State Sen. Mike Jacobs suggests changing the name of Asian carp to Rock Island Sole. 

Jacobs also suggested putting the carp on the menu at state prisons.

So many of these Asian carp jump in the air when a boat approaches that some have set out to see how many will jump in their boat. In a town named Bath, Ill. a bar held a “Hillbilly Carp Tournament” to find out just how many carp would jump into boats. Over 20 boats competed. The winner had 100 fish in the boat in one hour.

Biologists say the dangers the carp present are real. Anybody got any good carp recipes? We may have to eat our way out of this problem. Don’t think it can be done? Well, consider the history of the lobster.

In North America prior to the 20th century lobster was not a popular food. Eating lobster was considered a mark of poverty and only suitable for lower class people. Lobster was even thrown out in the fields to be used as fertilizer for farms. Priced any lobster lately?

If silver carp make their way up the Arkansas River from the Mississippi River or even into the Ouachita River, maybe we could turn it into a tourist attraction and call it a delicacy.

We’ll get creative and make the best of a bad situation. There won’t be any other choice. And if nothing else works, we can always use them as fertilizer.

(Mark Bivens is the editor of the Malvern Daily Record)