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)