A recent article in Smithsonian Magazine on the rebranding of the various invasive carp species in the United States (formerly known as the Asian carp and changed for what in hindsight seems like good reason) reminded me of the slow march of this type of environmental change.The prolonged struggle to correct the introduction of these invasive species is a reminder of how even the best of intentions by conscientious people in introducing new species into an area can lead to catastrophic damage to ecosystems.
As the Smithsonian Magazine article recalls:
Four species are generally included under the broader invasive carp umbrella, per the U.S. Geological Survey: bighead, black, grass and silver carp. The common carp was introduced in North America in the mid-1800s. But carp began to spread widely when the other four carp species were imported to the United States in the 1960s and ‘70s to eat algae in wastewater treatment plants and aquaculture ponds, as well as to serve as a source of food.
The fish escaped into the Mississippi River, then continued their spread into other rivers and beyond. Their population grew quickly, and they began to crowd out native fish species, outcompeting them for food (different carp species feed on plants, plankton, on up in size to endangered freshwater snail species). Invasive carp are also thought to lower water quality, which ultimately harms underwater ecosystems and can kill off other native species like freshwater mussels.
That said, I’ve been thinking about this topic since this Rowan Jacobsen article for Outside magazine way back in 2014, since the subject hits a little closer to home for me location-wise, and it’s been the start of my awareness of what Jacobsen and others term "invasivorism":
Asian carp, which now fill some Midwestern rivers at the unbelievable density of 13 tons per mile, could feed half of Chicago. The drawback? Their soft flesh and countless bones disgust people. (Bun Lai likens carp anatomy to “a hairbrush smeared with peanut butter.”) An effort to rebrand them as Kentucky tuna somehow failed to take off. Yet, at another Trash Fish Dinner, in Chicago last May, Paul Fehribach of the local Southern-cooking eatery Big Jones got raves for his crispy carp cakes. “Asian carp’s got really sweet meat,” he told me. “It reminds me so much of crab, but without the bottom-feeder funk, so I did it breaded and deep-fried in batter.” Now he’s working on carp fish sticks.
Invasive carp is a particular interest because it’s always bound up, in the context of its original label of "Asian carp," in a pseudo-jingoistic narrative that Asian cultures, which use chopsticks instead of fork and knife, are uniquely suited to eat these carp species and pick around their intramuscular bones. It’s an uncomfortable area that muddies the lines between Orientalist rhetoric and a legitimate historical technological advantage.
Jacobsen’s article was initially more interesting because it focused on Bun Lai, the proprietor of MIya’s Sushi in New Haven, and Bun’s attempt to pursue invasivorism also poked at some of diners’ preexisting notions of "tradition" and "culture" in fine dining (I certainly remember that Miya’s had its mix of successes and failures among its food selections). But the discussion of invasive carp stayed with me until I saw Atlas Obscura pick up the topic again in 2018 in its discussion of Philippe Parola, a chef attempting the first rebranding of the fish as the "silverfin" and attempting to market it as a foodstuff:
So far, it seems to be going well. The carp Parola uses is caught from waterways in Mississippi, Illinois, and Louisiana, and the latter two states have supported his efforts. Two facilities in Louisiana process the fish; then, it’s shipped to Vietnam, where it’s made into crabcake-like patties, sidestepping carp’s bony problem, and shipped back. Including fishermen, Silverfin Group, Inc. currently employs around 100 people, Parola says. They’ve already netted a big customer: SYSCO, America’s largest food distributor. Silverfin cakes will be served at restaurants, and they already debuted at a University of Illinois luncheon.
Reading back over it, it’s clear from the article (and from Silverfin’s website) that despite the company’s best intentions, its scope is limited. Which makes continued efforts like the new 2022 rebranding effort by Illinois not the final salvo, but one among many future endeavors to try to control invasive carp.