Asian Carp to Feed Illinois Hungry

As part of a two-prong effort to reduce the threat of Asian carp crowding Illinois waterways and to provide food for the hungry, the state has expanded its Target Huinger Now program. According to a press release, the Illinois Department of Nastural Resources is encouraging hunters to donate deer and fishermen to donate their catch of Asian carp to be processed for food.

Over the past year, more than 2,000 children and families have been provided venison tacos, made from deer donated by Illinois hunters.

Asian Carp

As a pest, Asian carp are voracious consumers, competing with native fish, growing up to 110 pounds, capable of quickly overtaking native fish populations as they scoop up 40% of their body weight daily in plankton.

In terms of nutrition, Asian carp are protein-rich. Feeding America, which is co-sponsoring the program, says protein is the most expensive food source

As an invasive species, the Asian carp is presenting Illinois with a significant challenge. Their growing presence is affecting commercial and sport fishing, as well as tourism, all multi-billion dollar industries.

Their habit of jumping into motorboats made them a subject of amusement by TV reporters when they first started spreading out, but the threat to the environment and economy through their prodigious appetite has changed the perception. Apparently disturbed by the motor, they respond with their leaps from the water, captured on vieos you can find with a quick search of YouTube.

Already infesting Illinois waterways like the Missisippi and Illinois rivers, state and federal officials hope to keep them from establishing themselves in the Great Lakes. In the Chicago area, the US Army Corps of Engineers installed two underwater carp-repelling electric barriers above Lockport Dam in the shipping canal to Lake Michigan.

Chicago Search for Asian Carp

A fish kill was made on September 22d, 2011, using rotenone, which is toxic to fish, dumped while one of the barriers was down for repairs. The Chicago Tribune said a single Asian carp was found in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Rotenone is deadly to fish but harmless to humans, animals, and most other aquatic life.

Illinois faces losses to its $15 billion dollar shipping industry due to legal efforts underway on behalf of other states on the Great lakes who seek to close the Chicago navigation locks. Including the Asian carp in Target Hunger Now is doubly practical, providing another food source for distribution and promoting the eradication of the problematic fish.

Target Hunger Now annually coordinates processing of venison through select processing plants throughout the state. That capability will be expanded to include the processing of Asian carp.