I don't know about you but I enjoy spending my time listening to speeches and lectures. Sometimes I'll listen to book authors on California's Commonwealth Club and sometimes I'll just listen to C-SPAN. Trust me, this is the kind of thing most people would never do because listening to radio means music or even political talk radio.
However, recently I was interested in the Asian Carp forum at Chicago University online. They put together a panel of professionals from all fields to talk about invasive species and the dreaded Asian Carp. Now this might sound really boring, but for a guy like me, it's just amazing to see history unfold. How does America allow this to happen and to have billions of carp infest the waterways?
Is there something wrong with rednecks in Chicago? Or is this simply a case of the river system? It turns out that a lot of this has to do with rural Americans who aren't used to internationalism. In other words, we'd never have a problem like this in California. Why? Well those who purchase carp and/or eat carp take care of them as food fish.
Carp sells for $4.99/lbs in California. For this reason, no sane farmer nor transport services would allow for any carp to escape aboard a truck. Also, carp is a fresh water fish that tastes pretty much like the water ways that it lives in. So dirty ecosystems and ponds wouldn't be a good place to throw carp into if they want to make money on them.
What rural Americans in the Mississippi River system miss is this fact. That, the more cherished the fish is, the less chance that it'll escape and do exactly what took place in their region.
The forum was interesting. They consisted of a bunch of professors I've never heard of. Some of them were government employees. And of course the media jumped all over this a few years ago because the fish jumped out of the water like Tobi or flying fish. To me, it was a chance to see America in action as opposed to seeing Japanese in action.
You see, Japanese have a relationship with carp that goes back 2,000 years. I saw two segments on carp. The first was 5 years ago talking about the invasive Asian Carp. And then this year regarding a new book by the same think tank on how to fight invasive species.
What bothered me was the fact that none of these professionals seemed to understand the nature of how carp is cherished. Now I'm no fisherman nor a fish fan, but I do know many people who adore carp. Not this type but the kinda that costs $10,000 and has colors on them. They keep them in ponds with beautiful decor. Some resemble Japanese Tea Gardens.
Having said this, how could America be so divided? One group that adores this fish and another that actually cracks jokes and attacks them? Are these two Americas just not seeing eye to eye? I'm not really sure myself, but I do know that America adores and respects the King Salmon. And that's another fish that swims in the waterways. The only difference between Salmon and Carp is that Americans don't eat the carp.
What if? Well what if we could better educate the American public? It's not a stretch because so many fish lovers already adore the Japanese Koi and pay more than ever for these fish. As for the Asian Carp? America could see them as food fish if we start the population early at a younger age.
To do this, Chicago University must have another forum. One that includes chefs. I'm not talking the ones from Food Network or something, but rather ones from Japan and China. Let's bring in the people who are used to cooking carp and show some exposure to the culinary history of carp.
I can think of dozens of examples of fish that America found useless which has become a cherished food in today's world. Blue Fin Tuna was once a garbage fish in America because the dark red meat wasn't used in canned tuna. Only after Japan introduced transport did it become a sushi boom.
Another example is herring eggs. Although herring is a staple in Norway, the eggs don't sell well. However Japanese eat herring eggs during a holiday season. It's a national treasure and the secondary egg market for herring has now surpassed herring as a money maker for processors in Norway.
There is definitely a market for Asian Carp in America. It's just a matter of educating the politicians to remove the Lacey Act and allowing Californians to enjoy fresh carp alive. Also this assures that the sushi chefs get a hold of the freshest fish. Alive is always desired more in sushi as well as Chinese cooking as opposed to traditional American cooking which requires them processed and frozen.
This subject was never discussed in the forum. But rather mentioned marketing of Asian Carp as a failure. Of course it is a failure if we rely on Americans to invent the market. The market has to come from the Asians in America.
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