Asian Carp Invasion, Part I

Midd Students are generally unfazed by the obscure bayaldis, risottos, gratins, stews, and ragouts served at Proctor dining hall. Even those who can tell the difference between their quinoas and bulgurs were unsure what to make of a new series of dishes prepared by the Proctor staff this year. The main ingredient? Asian carp. Perhaps in anticipation of student uncertainty, the staff prepared handouts about a little-known crisis in America’s rivers. For those of you who didn’t get the details, I’ll start out this series about Carp on campus with a brief summary.

First things first, though. Want proof that this whole Asian Carp thing is serious? Don’t believe that people go bow-hunting for fish? Watch this and sing a rousing chorus of the Star-Spangled Banner. Only in America.

Now that we’ll all have nightmares about fish attacks, here’s some more background information:

Asian carp, a term referring to several fish of Asian origin, escaped from fish farms into the Lower Mississippi in the late 1970s and have been spreading northward ever since. These aren’t your average minnows, either; carp can grow to be 5 feet long and over 100 pounds (not just fish story exaggeration, I promise). Despite their size, carp pick on the little guys and eat plankton. This means they’re disrupting the entire food system, from the bottom up, threatening the vitality of all native fish species, and, in turn, America’s freshwater fishing industry.

The last barrier to the Great Lakes is an electric fence at the Chicago Canal. Fear of a Great Lakes breach is so strong that officials dumped more than 2,000 pounds of fish poison into the waterway just to do quick fence maintenance last year. Asian Carp hysteria even reached the President: in February, the White House hosted an “Asian Carp summit,” and pledged nearly $80 million to prevent the spread of these backwater bullies.

Not only do these invasive fish threaten to disrupt ecosystems, but they also pose a danger to unsuspecting boaters as well, as seen in countless Youtube videos.

The fence can’t hold these greedy human-sized fish out forever, and we’re in need of more creative solutions to eliminate them. That’s where Richard O’Donahue, Proctor’s head chef, comes in. O’Donahue has been exploring carp as a sustainable, low-mercury food source. His staff has prepared carp patties (plain, but a good start), Asian carp meatball soup (getting better), carp meatloaf (not half-bad), and carp tacos (dry, but worth the effort). Despite facing a lack of available recipes and carp’s formidable bone structure, Richard says his staff plans to continue experimenting.

The dining staff is eager for feedback. Leave a comment here and also let Proctor know what you think. Check MiddBlog for updates!