JUDY WOODRUFF: Now an update on an important
fishing story in the Great Lakes region. We have chronicled the problems that a particularly
invasive species, Asian carp, have posed for the past few years. But now scientists are thinking it may be
time to come up with a new solution. Ash-Har Quraishi of WTTW Chicago reports. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: You definitely don't want
these voracious fish invading the Great Lakes, but now that they're in the Illinois River
and here to stay, scientists are wondering if there's a profitable way to keep their
populations in check. This is Stratton State Park, about 60 miles
southwest of Chicago. VIC SANTUCCI, Illinois Department of Natural
Resources: This is kind of like the battleground right here. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: It's a story we have heard
before. VIC SANTUCCI: The fish are moving up from
the Mississippi River into the Illinois and up towards the Great Lakes. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: But there's an ironic twist
to this doomsday story which could be solved by striking a delicate balance between economics
and the environment. Vic Santucci is the Asian carp specialist
for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. VIC SANTUCCI: Let them get the net out. We won't try to scare the fish away. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: He and his team are evaluating
whether the carp can be controlled the old-fashioned way, by catching them. VIC SANTUCCI: They're trying to drive fish
into one of their commercial nets, and that's contracted fishermen. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: The catch-22 is that, while
the ultimate goal is to fish down the populations to prevent ecological damage, there have to
be enough Asian carp left to make the business lucrative for commercial fishermen. VIC SANTUCCI: It's really driven by free market
principles, how much they can get for fish, how much it costs them to catch those fish
and that type of thing. And then you need a market, you know, what
can you do with the fish. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: Santucci says it's a numbers
game. Removing Asian carp from this population downstream
prevents strays from making their way up toward the electric barrier in the Chicago Sanitary
and Ship Canal. This has been the Army Corps of Engineers'
last line of defense to block the Asian carp from invading Lake Michigan and all of the
Great Lakes. PHILIP WILLINK, John G. Shedd Aquarium: The
consensus among scientists is that it works really, really well, but is probably not perfect. So if only a few Asian carp reach the electric
barrier, it will probably repel them, but if thousands reach the electric barrier, some
might slip through. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: Philip Willink, a senior
research biologist at the John G. Shedd Aquarium, says the focus now needs to be on developing
ways to prevent the fish from breeding near the electric barrier, because smaller juvenile
fish are more likely to slip through the blockade. PHILIP WILLINK: And one of the ways to do
that is to sponsor commercial fisherman to go out there and try to catch as many as they
can. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: Today, Gary Shaw is one
of 10 commercial fishermen who's allowed to fish these backwaters accompanied by state
biologists. GARY SHAW, commercial fisherman: Pound fishing
with gill nets is the best way to get them right now. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: It's not a bad haul. MAN: He's approaching 50, I would say. MAN: Approaching 50, I would say that. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: According to the Army Corps
of Engineers, Asian carp are capable of eating 20 percent to 120 percent of their body weight
each day. But for commercial fishermen, big fish don't
always translate into big money. PHILIP WILLINK: So, one of the problems with
getting people interested in eating Asian carp is they happen to have a lot of bones
in some strange places, so they're really hard to filet. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: Add to that the common misperceptions
that these fish don't taste very good, because people assume they're bottom-feeders, and
you have a brand problem. Schafer Fisheries in Thompson, Illinois, is
addressing both those problems. Ever since the fish first turned up, the company
has been looking for innovative ways to process and market Asian carp. JAMES SCHAFER, Schafer Fisheries: On the fresh
side, it would be the Asian community here in the U.S., and on the frozen side, it would
be your ethnic communities around the world. The U.S. is the only country that doesn't
eat a carp. Americans have this mentality that they don't
want to eat a bony product, they don't want to fight with it. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: Schafer says that, once
all the bones are removed, an Asian carp filet yields a relatively small and expensive four-
to five-ounce portion that can't compete with more economical alternatives, which is why
they have turned to alternative methods of extracting the meat. JAMES SCHAFER: Basically we run it through
a mincing machine, which is a soft meat separator. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: The meat is then ground
up, much like beef, and nothing is wasted. So this removes all the bones and anything
that you don't want in the meat? So it separates it completely? JAMES SCHAFER: Yes. Here's even your tendons, you can see, and
all your bones are in there. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: And this will go to eventually
become fertilizer? JAMES SCHAFER: This will be organic fertilizer. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: In a structure next to the
fish processing plant, a large machine the Schafers call "The Human Body" digests the
discarded bones, skins and tendons. Enzymes much like those found in the stomach
break down the leftovers to create an organic liquid fertilizer. And business has been good. Schafer says, over the last six years, processing
of Asian carp has more than doubled to about 15 million pounds each year. And they are in the final stages of research
and development on several new Asian carp-based products, including hot dogs. It's something the company hopes will open
the door to Asian carp for many skeptical consumers. JAMES SCHAFER: The toughest challenge, I would
say, is just changing the perspective and just getting people to try -- to try the fish. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: The company is fully invested
in marketing Asian carp products like salami, bologna and even Asian carp jerky. Here at the Taste of Chicago, the city's largest
food festival, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, working with its partners, has
found a surefire way of getting people to try it, by grilling it up and giving it away. DIRK FUCIK, Dirk's Fish & Gourmet Shop: You
mention the word carp, and people make a face first, and then I convince them to try it,
and then they go into the store and buy it. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: Free food means long lines
and open minds. SANDRA MEHL, shopper: It's really fantastic. It's really well-seasoned and it's moist. It's yummy. People should try it. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: In case it catches on, scientists
are also studying the long-term prospects of keeping up with potential demand. GIRL: It tastes good. WOMAN: It tastes good. (LAUGHTER)
ASH-HAR QURAISHI: James Garvey is the director of the Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture and
Aquatic Sciences at Southern Illinois University. JAMES GARVEY: See, you have got some nice
resolution now. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: For the last year, Garvey
has been sailing the Illinois River and literally counting Asian carp. Using sophisticated equipment much like the
sonar on a submarine, the team is scanning the waters. The SIU research is important for commercial
fishermen, because knowing how many fish are in the water is a good indicator of how sustainable
an Asian carp business could be in the long run. JAMES GARVEY: If you're not going to make
any money off the fish, if there's not enough fish out there, nobody's going to invest any
money in it. ASH-HAR QURAISHI: The hope is that, by the
end of this year, researchers, government agencies and commercial fisheries will each
have a better sense of their role in keeping Asian carp out of the Great Lakes by perhaps
putting it on your plate.
