While populations of silver carp are overrunning the Mississippi River and Illinois waterways that lead to the Great Lakes, enterprising anglers are succeeding in battling the invasive fish in the Platt and Missouri rivers. And they’re making bucks and protecting local fish stocks while they’re doing it.
Talk about resourceful thinking. Fishermen Greg Trial and Jim Finke have those invading silver carp jumping out of the water and into an amazing enterprise that uses every part of the fish. No, not just for fillets, but also dog treats, fertilizer, and even fish leather.
“They call me the apex predator,” Trial quipped during an interview with The Cool Down. His boat reportedly can harvest 500 pounds of carp in 30 minutes using a special, above-water net system he created.
Trial and Finke started chasing carp in 2019 to reduce their numbers in the Platt and Missouri rivers. Their Missouri Coast Fisheries took most of the carp, froze it and shipped it overseas, as these fish are very popular in Asia. In fact, more than 5.3 million tons of carp is farmed annually in the Far East.
When Covid hit, their overseas market disappeared. Undaunted, Trial and Finke began figuring out a domestic use for the fish, starting with its head.
Nothing is wasted — every part of the carp gets used. Their soil fertilizer is said to be cleaner than the nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers whose runoff creates algae blooms.
The carp literally jump into the boat. “We are catching them on the fly,” says Trial, who is an electrical engineer by trade. It’s the engine vibrations that trigger a leaping response.
The carp are prolific breeders. Each female can produce 1.9 million eggs per spawn, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “It’s a nightmare,” Trial said.
Asian carp was imported to the United States in the 1960s to tackle algae and weed problems in southern farms and wastewater treatment ponds. But they escaped into the Mississippi and have moved north into rivers and tributaries. In Illinois, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent to keep the carp from gaining access to the Great Lakes and the possibility they could destroy sport and commercial fisheries.
Carp is eaten around the world, though if has earned a reputation as an undesirable, bottom-feeder in America. In truth, the catch is light and flaky, without any strong fishy taste, according to Trial. He was raised on fish and is a carp connoisseur. Along with Finke, Trial and a small team troubleshoot net designs, navigate government regulations, and develop profitable products with the goal of having no waste.
“We wanted to use 100% of this resource. Why waste it?” Trial says. “So beyond the dinners, fish leather and even bones are planet-friendly alternatives to mammal hide and ivory for clothing, accessories, jewelry and more. Carp also makes for good fishing bait.”
A tip of the cap to two anglers who are successful in turning what most of us consider a trash fish into useful products.
