A plan to turn river pests to nutritional bonanza

What is a major problem for some US rivers will become a delicacy for Chinese foodies.

Taobao, China's largest online marketplace, is promoting the sale of frozen carp heads and other products like fish balls and fish sausages made from carp that have been infested the Mississippi River and surrounding waters for many years.

In the center of a promotion webpage is a jumping fish wearing an Uncle Sam top hat. Below the fish is a tagline: "Saving America".

The Asian Carp, a collective name for bighead carp, black carp, grass carp and silver carp, were introduced to the US in the 1970s to control weed and parasite growth in aquatic farms. They eventually managed to get into the Mississippi River and establish breeding populations. They are slowly making their way up the river and its tributaries, and have been found as far north as Minnesota.

Asian carp cause serious ecological problems because they compete with native fish for food and space, effectively pushing out the native species. Silver carp can also injure boaters and damage boating equipment as they jump out of water at high speed when startled by motors. Reported injuries include cuts from fins, black eyes, broken bones, back injuries and concussions.

An online video of carp jumping out of water as boaters pass by went viral in China a few years ago. Chinese foodies then asked: Why didn't the Americans eat them?

The US government encourages people to eat more the fish. However, partly because Asian carp are highly bony, and partly because the American cooking method can't get rid of their muddy taste, people don't fancy Asian carp, according to Richard Yang, board chairman of Big River Fish Corporation, an Illinois-based fishing company and the Taobao seller.

"In 2012, I went to the rivers a second time and brought Chinese seasonings. I cooked the fish myself with my hometown cooking style. It turned out very tasty," said Yang, a native of China's Anhui province.

Then he worked to grow the Chinese market, though his company has long exported Asian Carp to Israel, eastern European and Arab countries, but not to China. "Because the Chinese prefer live fish than frozen ones," he said, adding that his company has been selling the carp to Chinese hotels for a few years

Though it was the first time that the Chinese people had a chance purchase the wild caught Asian carp on Taobao, the fish went on sale for only three days, from Sunday to Tuesday, with delivery to start on Thursday.

"This time, it's just a stepping stone. We are afraid our stock can't meet customers' demand," Yang said. They only put 10,000 items on shelf for the three-day sale.

A frozen silver carp head, about 1 kilogram, sells 68 yuan (about $11) with free shipping. Yang said it was very cheap compared with the wild fish caught in China, which could sell as high as 240 yuan per kg.

According to the Taobao website, 398 fish heads, 1,092 packages of fish balls and 906 packages of fish sausages were sold in the three days. Customers said that the fish tasted good but the prices were a little high.

Lynn Lin, a Taobao project manager, said Chinese customers are fond of new things, but they are cautious at the same time. "They generally take a wait-and-see attitude," she said.

"The Asian Carp from the US at least have become a hot topic among Internet users," Lynn said. They have been closely watching how the Chinese react to the carp news on social networking websites.

"We also are in talks with the Big River for more promotion opportunities in the future," she said.

Yang said they are considering launching a Taobao store to start direct sales.

"Without predators, the Asian carp's population is increasing at 20 percent to 25 percent annually. It's estimated there are around 300 million tons of carp in the rivers," Yang told China Daily.

In 2013, the Upper Mississippi CARP Act was presented to Congress, which would empower the Secretary of the Army to enact strategies previously determined to prevent further spread of Asian carp and begin eliminating the species.

"If the Chinese can eat up the wild and nutritious carp that cause the US people headache, it would be a win-win situation," Yang said.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com