amur solutions
TRANSCRIPT
Ally Penwarden, Taylor Hughes and Michelle Polley
Sir Sandford Fleming College School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences
Patagonian Toothfish
“Chilean Sea Bass” Slimehead
“Orange Roughy”
Goosefish
“Monkfish”
Each of these species have experienced an exponential increase in commercial fishing pressures, and
subsequent population decline, after being assigned a new, more palatable common name.
Asian Carp are currently commercially fished in the Illinois and Mississippi water sys-
tems, but fishermen are limited by low profit margins, lack of domestic demand for the
fish
One Company in Illinois (Schaffer Fisheries) is processing 15 million pounds of Asian
Carp from the Illinois and Mississippi rivers annually.
Fresh, whole carp are in demand domestically. Frozen whole carp are sent by cargo ship
to China.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that commercial harvesting is already impacting Asian
Carp populations as the average size of Asian Carp being processed at Schafer Fisheries
in Illinois is smaller than when harvesting began.
The major challenge to processing Asian Carp currently is their bone structure.
As one species’ stocks decline, a new fish is targeted and marketed to consumers in its place. A new name is the first step to hav-
ing a formerly unfavourable fish sell well on fine-dining menus, in markets and in grocery stores. Often this re-branding is so
successful that the price of the fish will grow exponentially as it’s population decreases due to market demand.
Usually, Re-branding is a symptom of over-fishing. In this case, it will be the catalyst for it.
“We don’t catch any really large Asian Carp like we did when we
began harvesting them. They’re already being fished down” (Schaffer, 2016)
(Gillespie, 2014)
45%
31%
24%
Which fish seems most appealing?
Silver Fin
Speckled Amur
Noble Fish
17.11%
5.26%
22.37%
22.37%
7.89%
25.00%
OTHER
SAW IT ON TV
COOKED BY A FRIEND/ FAMILY MEMBER
ON SALE AT GROCERY STORE
TRIED A NEW RECIPE
ORDERED AT A RESTAURANT
Reasons to Try a New Fish
Figure 1: While some communities (especially Chinese-Canadians) currently
consume Asian Carp, for much of the population a stigma exists about Carp as
a food source.
Figure 2: Some pseudonyms for Asian Carp already in use in areas
of the world receive a nod of approval from Canadians.
Figure 3: History has shown that consumer preferences
for fish products can change as fads come and go.
Examples include lobster and tilapia, which were both
considered unfavourable foods only a few decades ago.
There are many effective avenues to changing peoples’ at-
titude toward a fish.
58.49%
8.49%
19.81%
13.21%
NONE OF THE ABOVE
BIGHEAD CARP
SILVER CARP
ASIAN CARP
Which would you order off a menu?
The Good News about Asian Carp: They’re Delicious. Chef Philip Foss of Chicago is serving Asian Carp on his menu daily in a variety of preparations. He has featured an Asian Carp ceviche under the name
“ Shanghai Bass Ceviche” the dish consistently sells out. Of the dish he said, “Every guest loved it.” (The Wall Street Journal, 2010)
The Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan states that,
“Preventing harmful introductions before they occur is the most effec-
tive means to avoid the risk of invasive species arriving in Ontario. Invest-
ments in prevention are cost-effective as they avoid the economic,
environmental and social costs of invaders.”
Comparatively low costs will be incurred as regulation and monitoring
of this growing industry is undertaken on both sides of the border.
The Great Lakes provide
35 million residents with drinking water, contain
20 percent of the Earth’s fresh surface water,
and support a thriving tourism industry and world-class fishery,
which generates $7 billion in economic activity annually.
(Great Lakes Commission, 2012)
Increased commercial harvesting will complement current and future
Asian Carp control strategies, including the Electric Dispersal Barriers at
Chicago.
A larger Canadian demand for carp will increase revenue and employ-
ment by expanding markets, and widen profit margins by reducing
shipping costs.
As Asian Carp populations decline, commercial fisheries will need some
government subsidization as they adapt to the changing fish popula-
With more than 85% of the world’s fisheries at or
beyond their biological limit, every dinner plate that
contains Asian Carp instead of an at risk species is a
two-fold success: Invasive carp populations will fall as
other declining species of fish are given the chance to re-
bound due to lessened fishing pressures.
"The best part about it is that you're eating
green, you're doing something to ensure
the sustainability of other native foods
by consuming this critter," (P (Visser, 2014)
Commercial fishing operations target adult carp of a
breeding age—each female fish caught removes up to
two million eggs/year from American waterways. Tar-
geting breeding adults is the most effective way to
eliminate prolific species like Asian Carp.
Asian Carp are caught using mostly Gill Nets and
Trammel Nets. Anecdotal evidence suggests that by-
catch of Asian Carp is not a major issue, being mostly
composed of other sustainable commercial fish species
such as catfish, but further study is needed.
Asian Carp would TOP Ocean-Friendly Seafood lists: They are the
only fish that provides an ecological gain each time one is harvested. As
social values shift toward more eco-friendly foods, Asian Carp are
ideally poised to become the protein of choice for the eco-
conscious Canadian.
Silver Carp won by a landslide over catfish in blind taste tests run by a re-
search team at the University of Missouri. (Wall, 2014)
They are nutritious as well: their low place in the food web means that
they do not bioaccumulate significant levels of toxins. They are also a
source of Omega –3, free from the antibiotics common in farmed fish,
high in protein and low in fat. (Wall, 2014).
Health Canada has a role to play in the promotion of Asian Carp by re-
leasing their nutrition information and endorsing them as a good choice
for Canadians.
The precedent for fishing a freshwater
species to extinction has already been set
by the Blue Walleye which was once
the main commercially harvested
fish in Lake Erie, but is now consid-
ered to be extinct due to overharvest-
ing and human pressures.
To be effective, a re-branding of Asian Carp needs to be fast-tracked through
Canadian and American legal systems. Here are the first steps:
FDA & CFIA: Both agencies have lists of acceptable common names for
seafood that they use to regulate marketing, import and export. The new
name for Asian Carp (i.e. Silver Fin) should be added to these lists to vali-
date further re-branding endeavors.
Invasive Species Act (Bill 37, 2014) is being processed currently. The timing
is perfect for the drafting of a regulation to the ISA that allows for the im-
portation of Asian Carp for human consumption. This will ensure that Ca-
nadian markets are not effectively closed off by the act, while protecting
waterways from the importation and release of live fish:
Figure 4: Tram-
mel Nets use fine
mesh between
layers of broad
mesh to trap fish
as they attempt to
swim through.
Bycatch of Tram-
mel nets may be
lower than that of
gill nets. (Clark,
1931)
INVASIVE SPECIES ACT, 2015 DRAFT REGULATION
Asian Carp (Bighead Carp, Silver Carp, Grass Carp, Black
Carp) In accordance with section 10.2 of Bill 37
1.Clauses 7 (a), 7 (c), 7 (e) do not apply to dead Asian carp
if,
a) it is being sold commercially for human consumption
b) it has been previously processed by an inspected,
approved facility
c) the specimen is possessed for human consumption
Figure 5: The now extinct Blue Walleye
Figure 4: Fishermen harvest Bighead Carp on the Illinois River for processing and export (Guardian News and Media, 2012)
Bill 37: An Act respecting Invasive Species (2015). 2nd Reading September 15, 2015. 41st Legislature, Ontario, 1st Session. Clark, G. H. (1931). Trammel Net. The California Halibut and an Analysis of the Boat Catches. http://content.cdlib.org/. Etter, L. (2010). Asian Carp Fix: Just Eat it. The Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/. Great Lakes Commission. (2012,
January). Restoring the Natural Divide. www.joycefdn.org/. Guardian News and Media. (2012). Fisherman Catching Asian Carp in the Illinois River. www.theguardian.com Visser, N. (2014). Eat the Enemy: The Delicious Solution to the Menacing Asian Carp. Huffington Post. www.huffingtonpost.com Wall, T. (2014). Invasive Carp Clobber Local Catfish in Taste
Test. Scientific American. blogs.scientificamerican.com
(Animalia Life, 2014) (Mayyasi, 2014)