Reply #3: Tough to do, really. [View All]

[MineralMan]

For example, the European Carp was introduced into Minnesota by the government, to provide a new food source for all the European immigrants who had come here. That happened back in the 19th century. It didn't work. They wanted to eat the native freshwater fish, which tasted better, had fewer bones, and so on. Carp was poor people's food. In Minnesota, you could catch sturgeon (food of the rich), walleye, and many other species. So, inevitably, the carp escaped into the lakes and rivers of Minnesota, where they live happy productive lives, just eating and making more carp. I fish for them, because they're a great fish to catch. I release them after I catch them, because I don't much like carp as a food fish. I've eaten it, and would do so again, if I needed to, but I don't much like it.

So, we have this invasive species living virtually everywhere in Minnesota, reaching weights over 25 lb. on a regular basis. You can fish for them, and they're wicked good fun to catch. British tourists who are anglers marvel at our carp resource, and love to fish for them. I've given a couple of British anglers the opportunity to catch the fish of a lifetime, right in downtown Saint Paul, fishing the Mississipi. They were outrageously happy. Now, they release carp to, because in the UK, they're a prize game fish. They don't eat them, either. Not many people enjoy carp as a food fish.

So, the solution of eating them rarely works out. Now we have the asian carp moving in. They'd be wonderful game fish, but you can't entice them to take a bait, because they're plankton eaters. You can net them, but Americans don't like carp as a food fish. They eat them in Asia, but they have them there, too, and farm them, so there's no economic reason to catch them here and ship them there. Same situation all over again as with the European carp. So, they'll settle in and eat and make more carp, just like their relatives

Invasive species are always a problem. Eating them rarely works, because people eat what they know.

A final example. There's a great fish in Minnesota, called the freshwater drum. It's a native species. They grow to over 30 lb. in size. They're a great angling fish, biting freely on just about any bait, and will outfight any other fish in our waters, pound for pound, pretty much. Best of all, they're easy to filet, and have firm, white flesh in boneless filets that tastes as good or better as the favorite freshwater fish in Minnesota, the walleye. Sounds ideal, right? Wrong. Anglers in Minnesota hate freshwater drum. They consider them trash fish and often kill them after catching them and throw them back in the water, wasting this great eating fish. Why? Because they don't know. Because they're fishing for something else. Because eating freshwater drum is unfamiliar to them. So, even a native fish that is in great supply goes unutilized.

I eat freshwater drum. In fact it's the only fish I keep from Minnesota waters. I filet them, cook them, and serve them to everyone I can. They think they're walleye, until I tell them. They're actually better than walleye, with firmer flesh and a nice flaky feel, more like an ocean fish. I'm an ambassador for eating freshwater drum. It doesn't work. Once they find out that the delicious fish they're eating is freshwater drum, most people stop eating. Just unbelievable. I've learned to not tell people until they've eaten their fill of the fish. Otherwise they cut their meal short.

So, getting people to eat invasive species just isn't going to happen.