Inavasive Species and Gulf Fishers

2010-08-08

We are currently experiencing a problem with an invasive fish species in the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Where they move in, they eat all the food and kill off the native wildlife. Some are known to become spooked and jump out of the water, often hitting boaters. There is, however, a solution.

After the import of Asian carp into the U.S. some escaped into the wild. Since then, they have been moving steadily northward toward the Great Lakes. Though there is some debate about the real extent of the damage they will cause, most agree that the worst-case scenario is absolutely horrible. Everyone wants them stopped.

How about that solution I mentioned?

Currently, we have a little problem in the Gulf of Mexico which prevents the professional fishing people from working. That's sad. If we could retrain them and re-outfit some of their boats, we could move them into areas where the Asian carp have taken over. They could work to remove the fish. This puts them back to work as well as removing the fish.

The fish, supposedly, is an Asian delicacy, so people can eat them. We could always process the fish as a food product. I'm told that Americans don't like them because they are boney (the carp, not Asians). If the market for the fish as food doesn't exist, they can always be used as fish-meal fertilizer.

As a public works project, this is a good one. We put unemployed fishers back to work. We reduce a threat to native ecologies. We produce food for hungry people. Please contact your favorite legislators and let them know they should do this.