Minnesota Carping Crazily Concerning Carp

I wish this was an April Fools Day joke, but it's not.

The Detroit Free Press: Minnesota may rename Asian carp to less-offensive 'invasive carp'

Yes, really, and of course it's a Democrat leading the morphological mutilation.

The troublesome fish currently known as Asian carp may get a new name in Minnesota over concern that the current one casts people from Asian cultures in a negative light.

Proposals advancing in the Legislature would require the Department of Natural Resources to refer to the fish as “invasive carp,” a reference to the threat the non-native fish pose to Mississippi River-area ecosystems.

Sen. John Hoffman, the Champlin Democrat sponsoring a bill in the Senate, said some people of Asian descent have complained about the name.

Look, it's classified as an Asian carp (there are two main subspecies, the bighead carp and silver carp) as it comes from - you guessed it - Asia!

It's also a fish that Asians have been known to use a food. The fish is a fish, its neither bad no good, it just is, and changing its name to the stupid sounding invasive carp isn't going to improve things.

What's next, renaming Zebra mussels to invasive mussels to spare the feeling of our African equid friends?

Imagine going into a restaurant and seeing an invasive carp on the menu. Sheesh.

When Life Gives You Carp, Make Gefilte Fish

Or sell the invasive species of Carp to China as a delicacy.

Asian carp's next stop: A dinner plate in China

The invasion of Asian Carp into the Illinois river and likely from there into the Great Lakes poses both a crisis and an oppotunity and it looks like some people are finding the opportunity:

Gov. Pat Quinn announced Tuesday that the state will put $2 million into refurbishing and expanding a fish plant in Pearl River, Ill., that plans to process 30 million pounds of Asian carp a year, turning the feared fish into frozen fillets and shipping them back to their native China. The fish will be sold there as high-end restaurant fare.

"The rivers in China are so polluted, people now eat farm-raised carp," said Ross Harano, international marketing director for Big River Fish Corp. "They're excited about our wild carp."

 I predicted the usefulness of fishing for the carp and its nice to be proven right, not to mention this looks like a serious money-maker:

State officials hope the plant will reduce the thriving Asian carp population in the Illinois River before the fish approach the electric barriers meant to keep them out of the Great Lakes.

"The high quality and taste of the wild Asian carp from Big River Fish far exceeded our expectations," said Liang Chang, chairman of Beijing Zhuochen Animal Husbandry, which will import the fish in China. "We see a tremendous market in China for the wild Asian carp."

So, who's got a good Gefilte fish recipe for Asian Carp?

Has Michigan Got Carp?

The Detroit News: Asian carp DNA found in Lake Michigan for first time

Feds: Don't panic over carp - DNA found in lakes; Granholm calls for White House summit

In short, even as certain Federal agencies deny it, it is most likely that the Asian Carp have already made their way into the Great Lakes, via the Chicago sanitary canal, and all the fiddling around and delays in closing the Chicago canal permitted this to happen.

You'll notice Obama is backing Chicago rather than the ecosystem of the Great Lakes - No big surprise there.

For Cox, Tuesday's pair of announcements added up to bitter news, and he placed much of the blame for it at the feet of President Barack Obama.

"President Obama said he would not tolerate new threats to the Great Lakes, yet he has left the front door to Lake Michigan wide open," Cox said in a press release.

"Billions in economic activity and 800,000 Michigan jobs connected with the health of the lakes are at risk. His indifference is just stunning."

Cox was not alone in his criticism of the president. Noah Hall, a professor specializing in environmental law at Wayne State University, said Obama's failure to step in and compel closure of the waterways shows more concern for the objections expressed by the shipping industry and many of Illinois' elected officials.

"This was supposed to be the Great Lakes president," Hall said. "I don't think we're seeing that. What we're seeing is a Chicago president."

On the potential upside, Asian Carp is apparently tasty and good for you too, so this may open a new sport fishing angle for Michigan. It also might let us have an export to China where the carp is a prized eating fish. Then again the risk it presents to harming the current fish populations likely overwhelms any such potential reward.

At the very least, if we want to eradicate them, Michigan and the other states surrounding the Great Lakes should declare open season on carp for all anglers with no license required and no catch limits.